Lachrymose
by musicormisery4105
Summary: AU 1863 Civil War. Bella and her foster-brother, Jasper Whitlock are powerful, crimson eyed Southern Vampires living under the near tyrant leadership of Maria Veracruz. Follow their journey of War, Broken Alliances and Betrayal. !Eventual Canon Pairings!
1. Prologue

**JUNE 6****th****, 2009 UPDATE:**

**This is for everyone's information who is beginning to read this story: I am warning you now, you will NOT be seeing the other Cullen's (AKA: Edward, Carlisle, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie) in this story for a ****while****. They will be in the story **_**eventually **_**just not anytime soon. If this upsets you, I'm sorry but this is how things are going to be. There _IS_ a reason why the story is under the "FAMILY/ANGST" category and not the "Romance/Angst" category. **

**ALSO I'm splitting this story into two parts. **_**Part One**_** is what the Summery says: Bella and Jasper's life during the Vampire Wars. **_**Part Two**_** will focus on their life with the Cullen's. I hope this clears things up for people (as I've been asked to "_hurry up and get things moving along already_" and "_get to Edward already_") **

**So I hope this clears things up for you all and I hope that even though this may not be what you want, I hope you will still give my story a chance. Thank you.**

**- Rip. **

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**Summery**

**(PLEASE READ) **

**AU 1863 Civil War. Isabella Whitlock and her step-brother, Jasper are two very powerful, crimson eyed Southern Vampires living under the near tyrant leadership of Maria Veracruz. Follow their journey of War, Broken Alliances and Betrayal. !_Eventual Canon Pairings_! **

**WARNINGS****: VAMPIRE ANGST/MURDER/VIOLENCE/LANGUAGE/OC CHARACTER DEATH!! (Wow, kind of makes me wonder if I should change this to "M")**

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**Disclaimer:** I am not Stephenie Meyer, so basically that means that I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. Well, from this story anyways. (:

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**Prologue**

**APOV**

_-__**Mississippi circa 1920**__-_

I slowly opened my eyes after enduring what seemed like ages of complete and total hell. Everything seemed like it was in an icy clear focus. I found myself lying on the ground somewhere. Unsure of where I was I jumped up faster than I could have thought humanly possible. As I took in my surrounding I found myself alone in the forest.

Without really thinking about it I raised my hand to scratch the back of my neck but when I caught sight of my arm I was completely confused. I did a double take. I had always been tan, not dark tan but still tan. As I looked at my skin now though it was a deathly pale color.

From where I was I jumped up and ran. I ran until I found a small lake, standing by the edge. I looked into the lake and squeaked out a small gasp when I caught sight of my reflection. Before me was a gorgeous, pixie-like girl standing around 4'10 with short, spiky jet-black hair. But what stunned me the most was the shocking blood red eyes that stared back at me through the reflection and the white as snow paled skin.

And that was when I knew I wasn't human any longer.

After that I left my small watering hole to try and find someone who could explain what had happened to me. I ran at a very fast speed—faster than what I could have ever ran before. But suddenly I froze my movements as the outside world started to get fuzzy.

_At first all I saw was a dark forest but then I saw myself—or well my new self—with two stunning other creatures. But things were different, instead of my blood red eyes I now had gold eyes while both of the creatures by me had the blood red eyes I had now. There was both a male and a female with me. The male was beautiful, he had honey blond colored hair and was tall and muscular, towering way above me. The female was also very beautiful. She had dark brown hair that flowed down to middle of her back and the perfect figure. The three of us were running in the woods and laughing. It seemed like the perfect picture._

_Then the picture faded away and I saw myself, the female and the male meeting with five more lovely creatures. The thing they had in common were their beautiful honeysuckle colored eyes. There were three males and two females. They all looked surprised to see us and there was a bronze haired man who was scowling at me for some strange reason before he turned to the female that I had been with in the previous picture and started to stare at her intently and then in frustration._

_Then that scene faded away and I was seeing the eight of us running through the woods. I saw myself attack a deer in the woods and sink my teeth into the flesh. I saw the gorgeous blond headed male from my first picture doing the same near me. I watched as I totally drained the deer of blood before I tore the remains to pieces and disposed of them. The blond headed man did the same. He looked up at me and gave me a dazzling smile. Only something was different—he too now had golden eyes. _

And just as quickly as the picture had came it was gone. I know knew three things—I was a vampire. Two, I wouldn't drink from humans but I would drink animal blood instead like in the picture. And three, I would find those vampires from the pictures.

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_**Okay, so there is the prologue! What do you think, should I continue or not? It's up to you, please review! NO FLAMES!**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **_**Thanks for the nice responds in the prologue. I know it might have been a little confusing since it was obviously in Alice's point of view. From now on it will probably be in Bella's point of view but I MIGHT throw in a couple of Jasper's point of view's but I haven't really decided on that yet or not. So hopefully you guys like this chapter. It will explain a little bit more on Bella and Jasper's family background and a little more of Jasper's military career. Anyways, please review, they give a bigger inspiration to actually write. I have all the story plans for this story in my head and I will mostly be sticking to Jasper's story but changing it a bit since Bella is being thrown into the mix but I still don't know how often I'll be able to update the story. Even though it is Summer for me I don't have much free time. But if you review maybe I can update faster :) So enjoy the official FIRST chapter.**_

**Disclaimer: **_**I'm pretty sure that I am still not Stephenie Meyer so I still don't own anything. The only thing I own are John and Lillie because I made them up.**_

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**Chapter One**

**BPOV**

**-**_**Texas 1863**_-

I sighed unhappily and slowly ran my pale hand threw my dark brown locks. I was completely and utterly bored. I was a seventeen year old girl living with her step-parents in Texas during the middle of the American Civil War. As excited as it _sounds _it isn't actually all that exciting.

That wasn't always the case though. Our house used to be lively and not boring, but that was before my older brother, Jasper Whitlock, disappeared. My parents thought that he was either dead or kidnapped but I knew that wasn't what happened. While my parents grieved over the 'loss' of their only son, I sat in my room alone thinking about whether or not I should tell my parents were Jasper really was. Jasper and I had always been very close. We never kept anything from each other, so naturally I was the only one who knew about what happened to him. Well that was until almost a year after his departure, my parents read about him in the news. Let's just say that things didn't go all that well once they found out what really happened to him.

I heard the front door open and the footsteps in the hall let me know that my father was home. He walked into the parlor where my mother and I were sitting. Mother was knitting while I sat in an armchair, staring into nothingness, a normal habit for me now.

Of course, my parents didn't approve of this depressing demeanor I always had about me at all, but they knew that the reason for my depression was from missing my brother. Which was true, but I also felt guilty. Guilty that I could have stopped my brother while I had the chance and I could have saved my parents so much heartache.

"Hello dear." My father said, giving my mother a kiss on the cheek. I watched as her sky blue eyes lit up at the sight of him. "Hello Isabella." He said, coming over and giving me a kiss on the cheek also.

"How was you day dear?" I heard my mother ask as my father sat down on one of the couches.

"Same old, same old." He replied as he ran his hand through his honey blond hair.

My father was a school master. He taught the younger kids and unlike most school masters, was very kind to the students and tried to teach them things that would not only make them learn important things but also that they could have fun, while learning. All the children loved him dearly and I knew my father loved them in return.

My mother was about to reply when we heard the front door open. We all looked up in surprise and exchanged glances. "We're you expecting anyone, Isabella?" Father asked me.

I shook my head, "No." I answered.

"Were you?" My father addressed my mother this time.

"No." Mother answered.

The sound of heavy boots making their way into the hall made us all become alert. We had heard about the defeat of the Confederate Armies in both Vicksburg, Mississippi and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Maybe the Union made its way into the South to destroy everything. I watched as my father reached into the cabinet behind him to pull out his pistol.

"Show yourself!" My father called out.

"Put the gun down, I'm not going to hurt anybody." A familiar masculine voice called out from the hallway.

I froze in my chair at the words that the man had spoken. That was the last voice I would have ever thought that I would here. At first I tried to convince myself that I was just imagining things but the looks that were written on my parent's faces told me otherwise. I shot up from my chair and ran into the hall, towards the sound of the voice before my parents could even think about stopping me.

Once I got out into the hall I stopped in shock, and almost tripped over my own feet in the process. In the hall stood a man who stood about 6'3" with honey blond hair. He had a lanky but noticeably muscular build and a smirk was plastered on his chiseled features that were practically a mirror to my fathers. I squealed loudly in surprise and happiness and then jumped into his wide open arms which were waiting for me.

"Jasper!" I screamed as I hugged him as tightly as I could.

Jasper's now muscular arms wrapped themselves around my slender frame as he held me in very tight hug. I pulled back to study my brother. He looked a lot different since the last time I had seen him three years ago when he left threw his bedroom window. Back then he had been an awkward seventeen year old boy and I had been a shy fourteen year old girl. I was now a grown up seventeen year old girl and he was now a built twenty year old man.

I jumped out of his arms and gave his chest a hard smack, "You idiot!" I yelled at him, getting over my joy of seeing him and letting my anger take over. "Where have you been?" I demanded.

Jasper chucked lightly, "I have been fighting in the war Isabella. You didn't expect me to join the army but not fight in the war, did you now?" He asked me with a smirk plastered on his face once more. I almost smacked him again for calling my by my wretched full name instead of my nickname, Bella, but I didn't. I decided to let it go since it was the first time I was seeing him in three years.

Three years previously, my brother decided to run away and join the new army, which was none other than the Confederate States Army. Since then we had not heard from one word from him, although we did occasionally read about him in the papers when he was mentioned but now here he was, standing in the flesh.

I huffed at him in annoyance but I couldn't hide that smiling that was lighting up my face and giving me away, "Oh hush Jasper." I said. "So what have you been doing in the army the past three years?" I asked him.

Before he got the chance to answer a soft, feminine voice came from the parlor doorway. "Jasper, dear. Is that really you?" I heard my mother ask.

Jasper and I both turned and saw her standing in the doorway with her hand resting delicately on her chest and tears starting to form in her eyes. My father stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders and a keen look in his eyes.

"Yes mother." Jasper answered her.

I watched as my beautiful adoptive mother freed herself from my adoptive father's grasp and ran to embrace her only 'real' child. You see, Jasper is not my real brother and Lillie and John Whitlock, aren't really my real parents. But to me, they are my real family for they have been all I have ever known. According to Lillie my real birth parents died in a fire when I wasn't even three years of age but somehow, I was saved from the fire. John and Lillie Whitlock, who had been friends of my birth parents, decided to take me in as their own. As I grew up I never thought of Lillie and John as 'Lillie' or 'John' or my 'adoptive parents.' To me, they were my real parents, just like Jasper was like a real brother to me, even if we weren't blood related.

"Jasper!" My mothers voice said, shaking me from my reminiscing, "You gave us such a fright! Why did you just up and leave us like that?" she asked Jasper.

Jasper sighed and ran his hand through his hair, just like John did when he was frustrated or tired, "I'm sorry mother but I did it because I knew if I told you that you would never agree to let me go. So I just up and left."

"Your damn right we wouldn't have." Father said sternly.

"I'm sorry father." Jasper said as he hung his head in shame, "I just wanted to help out our new country. I regret not saying goodbye to you all—" Jasper gave me a pointed look at this part, for he _had _said goodbye to me. "But I don't regret joining the army to help out country." He said firmly to his father.

John sighed and looked Jasper straight in the eyes when he spoke, "I guess I shouldn't be too hard on you son." He confessed. "I did the same thing when I was younger during the War of 1812."

Jasper and I both looked at our father in shock. "You did?" Jasper managed to croak out threw his surprise.

Our father nodded, "Yes, I did."

"Let's not talk about this now." Our mother pleaded. "Lets just be happy that Jasper is home happy and safe." She said.

I smiled, "Of course. So Jasper, you never answered my question." I whined and tugged on his arm, imitating a little kid.

Jasper laughed, "Well if we can all go out into the parlor I will explain everything that has happened over the past three years and what I'm doing here in the first place."

Jasper led us into the parlor. Our parents sat down side by side on the couch while Jasper and I positioned ourselves on armchairs that were on either side of the couch.

Once we were settled I looked at Jasper, "So…." I said impatiently.

Jasper snickered at me before he began to tell his story, "After I left here I went straight to the army. I wanted to try my hardest to protect our new country from falling back into the hands of the Union. I trained hard and fought hard too out on the battlefield. With all my hard work, I was recognized by higher officers and I quickly rose through the ranks over more experienced men. It seemed like everyone liked me, although I'm not sure why." Jasper mused as he scratched his chin lightly.

"It's your charisma son—you have always had a knack for being able to influence the others around you." Father told Jasper with a proud grin gracing his features.

Jasper smiled at our father before he continued, "Anyways, it has been a long time since I have been home, three years to be exact. For about a year now I was considering about asking the higher officers if I could go home and visit my family for a while but I always chickened out at the last minute. I mean, who would let one of their major's leave in the middle of a war to go home for a while? Especially since we just lost the Battle of Vicksburg and the Battle of Gettysburg." Jasper said, his voice becoming bitter during the last part of his speech. "But finally I racked up the courage to ask the officers and to my surprise they actually let me come home. I have a feeling they felt sorry for me. They know it's hard on me, being so young yet having so much responsibility."

"How long are you here for?" Mother asked quietly.

Jasper sighed once again, "The officers gave me a month to visit you guys and then I have to turn to the battlefields." he told us solemnly.

I thought mother was going to break down and cry right then and there, "Just promise to say goodbye to us this time and don't sneak out in the middle of the night like last time." She sniffled.

Jasper hung his head. I knew that more than anything he felt guilty leaving like that but he did have a point, if he would have told our parents that he was going to leave and join the army, they would not have let him go.

"I promise mother." Jasper said.

I watched as our mother sniffled again and then got up and pulled my big, almost twenty year old, brother into yet another hug. He embraced her just as tightly. For the first time in almost three years my family was finally complete and back together.

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**_So, any thoughts? Please review!_**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: _So, I got less reviews for the last chapter then the first one...But for those of you who DID review, _**XxX.vicious.angel.XxX, Where-the-crow-flies**_, _**CallistoLexx**_, _**DramaDork21, **_and the anon. _**BlueJean452. _**This chapter is dedicated to you guys. Thanks for reviewing, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy it! :) Anyways, so here's the chapter. Please read and review! No flames please!**_

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing.**

**Just a small note: _This chapter will contain a lot of quoted words from 'Eclipse' when Jasper tells Bella how he was changed. I wanted to stick to the storyline as much as possible so, yeah._**

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Chapter Two

**BPOV**

-_**Texas 1863**_-

"Are you sure that you two don't want to come with us?" Mother asked. She and Father were going to go to go on a picnic with some of the parents of the children that my father taught at the school.

I shook my head, "No, I think I want to stay home." I said.

"Me too." Jasper replied.

Mother nodded, "Okay, be good." She warned.

"Mother, Bella is seventeen and I am twenty years old—I think we will be okay." Jasper reasoned with a short laugh.

Mother sighed, "I know, I just—" she cut herself off. "Nevermind, I'll see you kids later, alright?"

Jasper and I both nodded and waved as our parents left the house. Jasper turned to me as soon as they were gone. "So what do we do now?" he asked.

I shrugged, "There isn't much to do here. Most of the boys who were old enough left to join the war and now it's only the younger kids, some girls my age and the adults." I explained to him.

Jasper nodded in acknowledgement, "How many men left to join the army?" he asked.

"There were at least 13 adults and many of the boys the same age of you did the same exact thing that you did, they ran away. I think there are only a small handful of boys left here in town that are older than me." I elucidated him.

Jasper was quiet a moment before he spoke, "So the town is practically a ghost town now?" he asked.

I shrugged, "Not exactly, there are still plenty of adults and children but not that many teenagers here."

"So what have you been doing, if there aren't any people here your age?" Jasper asked me. "What have you been doing since I was gone?"

I turned my head away, partly ashamed. I knew Jasper would probably be angry when he found out that I had practically been in a depression during his absence, "Nothing really." I said truthfully. "I help mother around the house and sometimes father if he needs me too. Sometimes I will watch the younger children if their parents ask me too but other than that I normally stay in my room and read or I sit in the parlor with mother and father."

"So you never have any real fun?" Jasper asked sadly.

I shook my head, "Well there isn't exactly anybody to have fun _with._" I pointed out.

Jasper looked guilty. He put his head down and scratched the back of his neck anxiously. He then decided to change the subject, much to my relief. "How about we go and take a walk, just like old times before I left. I want to see how the town has changed since I've been gone." He suggested. He was referring to the times when we used to walk around town until it got dark. Even when Jasper had still lived here there still wasn't much to do.

I nodded, "Sure, sounds like fun."

When then headed out the door and started out on our walk, unaware of the danger that was ahead of us.

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Jasper and I had walked all around town at least twice. We were reminiscing on things that happened when we were little kids. I hadn't laughed this hard, or had this much fun in three years. I knew the reason for my sudden giddiness was that was because my brother was finally back.

"—and I remember when you were four, Tommy Briggins pulled your pigtails and pushed you off the tireswing. You started crying and so I went and punched him in the nose." Jasper said while laughing.

I giggled, "Yeah you did. I remember that now."

"What can I say, I'm protective over my little sister." He joked.

We now had left the center of town and were walking on a small road that led to another small town like ours. The road was narrow and made from dirt, not gravel. Forest surrounded the road on both sides. It was rare that there forests in Texas but we lived in the part of Texas that was right along the Arkansas and Louisiana line. If you went east you would cross into Louisiana but if you went north-east you would head into Arkansas. The forest that was here continued on from the Texas line and into Louisiana. (**_Small but important A/N: Please note, I have never been to Texas so I'm not sure there are forests but the forest is needed for the plot of the story._**)

I looked up at the skies. It was already a light purple-pink mixed with blues, oranges and yellows. '_Twilight_' I thought.

"Jasper we should be heading back, its starting to get dark." I suggested.

Jasper chuckled, "Oh come on Bella, it isn't dark yet." He said.

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter." I told him. "We should be getting back. Back before the war this would have been okay but you never know who you will run into now." I shuddered slightly. I turned to him and poked him in the chest. "And you are unarmed. If we ran into someone, it wouldn't be good." I reasoned.

My older brother sighed heavily, "Okay." He finally said. I knew he was only agreeing for my safety. "Let's head back. It will take us a good ten minutes or so but I guess it doesn't matter. We will get back before it gets too dark."

We turned around and started to head back in the direction that we had come from. We walked a few minutes in silence before we started to talk. Jasper started the conversation, "Sometimes I forget that things have changed a lot since I've been gone." He said sadly.

"They haven't changed that much. You just have to be more alert and careful around here now." I pointed out, trying to cheer Jasper up.

"I know but still…" he trailed off. "Sometimes I wonder if going and joining the army was wrong."

I sucked in a sharp breath, "Why would you wonder that? You are a Major and are helping our country earn its freedom."

He shook his head, "Well great job that I'm doing." He said in a bitter sarcastic voice. "We lost Vicksburg and Gettysburg both which were too very important battles. We lost many men in Pickett's charge which I still say was the stupidest battle tactic I have ever heard of in my life. I can't believe General Lee made his men run across wide open ground, right into the Union armies hands. It was practically suicide. He should have listened to General Longstreet. Don't get me wrong, General Lee is a fantastic General and I don't know who would do a better job at what he does but..." Jasper trailed off. "I guess..." He cut himself off again and sighed with frustration. "Then the next day we get word from Vicksburg saying that the Union army overtook it. Now they have complete control over the Mississippi river." He stopped and looked at me. "Things are changing and they are changing fast. With Grant as their new General…" I watched as he shuddered. "Who knows what he will do next." (**_A/N: Sorry for the 'history lesson' there. Blame my History teacher. Lol._**)

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I knew that we had lost the battles but all this information was completely new to me. It was also difficult to see my brother so broken up and confused and angry at himself when it wasn't even his fault. "This is really tearing you up, isn't it?" I asked after a few moments.

Jasper shrugged, "I guess. I just think that me being in the army hasn't really done us any good. I mean I may be a Major but they could have done it without me. Sometimes I wish I would have just stayed home and helped here at home." He said and then he looked over at me and caught my gaze. His eyes were giving away all of his emotions. "It was wrong to leave such a responsibility with you Bella and I'm sorry. I am very surprised that you didn't rat me out though." He said.

I was a little hurt by what he thought. Did he really think that I would rat him out. "Oh course I didn't rat you out. I promised didn't I?" I said in a stern voice. "Mother and father only found out because of your name in the papers when you got promoted to Major." I explained while looking at the ground.

"If I would have never left you would have never went into that horrible depression and mother and father wouldn't have been so stressed and worried all the time." Jasper reasoned.

I gasped slightly. I never told Jasper about my depression. '_How did he find out?'_ I wondered silently.

Jasper continued on though, like he hadn't heard me. "I was a seventeen year old who didn't think his decision through. War is a hard thing Bella, I hope you never have to discover what it is like first hand." He said and left it at that. He began walking again towards town with me right on his heels.

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It didn't take much longer before we were less than half a mile away from town. I could see the small town upon the horizon. I had been staring at my feet in silence, concentrating on trying not to trip, when I noticed three women appear from practically no where. Each of them had deathly pale skin. One was short and tiny with long, curly dark brown hair and had noticeable Mexican features. The second was tall with shoulder length black hair and chalky white skin. She looked English for the most part. Her eyes were as black as Midnight though, which surprised me. The last one had long, straight blonde hair and an angel's face. She had the same pale skin as the other three. They were all completely gorgeous and totally unfamiliar. After living in the same place all my life I was surprised, I didn't know who they were at all.

Jasper and I both stopped and stared at the three girls as they walked towards us. I knew Jasper assumed that they were harmless, probably fascinated in their priceless beauty but I couldn't help the feeling bubbling in my stomach that was telling me something was horribly wrong.

"Their speechless." The tall black haired girl said in a beautiful voice—it was so smooth, almost like wind chimes. It was completely mesmerizing, even for me. I knew Jasper was long gone. He was staring at the three girls in complete amazement. I had to resist the urge to giggle at him.

The blonde haired girl stepped forward towards us. She leaned towards Jasper first and then myself. She half-closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, like she was smelling us. I wrinkled my nose at the thought.

"Mmm," she sighed in contentment. "Lovely."

The brunette with Mexican features walked up and settled her hand on the blonde haired girls shoulder and pulled her back. Her voice was sharp yet soft at the same time, "Concentrate, Nettie." The girl said.

I stared at the three, analyzing them. There was something different about them. Almost as if they weren't even human. I shuddered at the thought. The three girls were analyzing us as well. I felt strangely small under their criticizing stares.

"He looks right—young, strong, an officer from the looks…" the brunette paused in the middle of analyzing my brother. "She does too. It looks like she has a good tendency and could probably put up a good fight when needed." She pointed at me this time. I narrowed my eyes at her. "Very perceptive and smart too, I think. But there is something more to the both of them…do you sense it?" the woman asked the other two girls.

The two nodded, "Oh yes…" Nettie agreed, batting her eyelashes at Jasper again and leaning towards him.

"Patience." The brunette snapped. "I would like to keep them both." She announced.

Nettie frowned, almost in annoyance. Jasper was looking at me curiously. I could tell that he finally sensed that something was wrong. Yes, something was very wrong but yet I just couldn't put my finger on it. I was confused, what were these three women trying to do?

"You better do them both, Maria." Nettie said softly to the brunette, "If you like them so much, I mean. I end up killing them more often than actually changing them."

"Yes, I will do it." Maria agreed, eyeing Jasper and I carefully. "Yes, I really do like these two." She said. She turned to the black hair girl, "Take Nettie away will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus." She said to her.

My hair was standing up on the back of my neck now and I through Jasper I wild glance. He looked exactly how I did now, tense, confused and scared. I didn't understand anything about what these inhumanly beautiful girls were saying. My instincts were screaming at me that I was in danger but something was keeping me from running away. The thought of three girls, or rather one girl, killing us was a little bizarre.

"Let's hunt." Nettie said excitedly to the black haired girl next to her. My eyes widened in shock as they turned and ran, sprinting in the direction of town with a certain kind of gracefulness that I only _wished _I had.

I turned to find Maria staring at my brother, "What is your name soldier?" she asked him.

Jasper gulped but spoke anyways, "Major Jasper Whitlock ma'am." He stammered. He raised his hand and put in on the small of my back in protection. "This is my little sister, Isabella Whitlock." He said, introducing me.

Maria nodded, "I truly hope you both survive." She whispered. "I have good feelings about you both."

Maria stepped closer to my brother, inclining her head like she was about to kiss him. I watched as Jasper's eyes widened and he took a small step back. Making me stumble back with him for he now had his arm wrapped tightly around my waist in defense.

Suddenly Maria lunged and settled her head into Jasper's neck. I could see her teeth bite down for a moment. She kept her head there for a moment before she let go. Jasper's eyes were wide with complete shock. As were my own. I shrugged Jasper's arm off me and turned to run. I got two feet before I tripped over air and fell to the ground. Maria was at my side in a minute, looking at me with bright crimson eyes. I knew she was not human.

"I wouldn't run, Isabella. You can't outrun me and you can't fight me. I'm going to make you like me though." She said with a wicked smile. "Jasper and you will both be like me and you will help me get back my territory." She said.

I looked over at Jasper. He looked like he was in extreme pain, he was holding onto his neck. "Run Bella, Run!" he managed to yell at me. It sounded strangled though, like it was hard to speak. "Trust me, Bella. Don't trust her."

Maria shook her head, "It won't hurt too bad, I promise." She said in a sticky sweet voice. She didn't waste a moment or even wait to see my reaction. She brought her face into my neck and sunk her teeth down into it. I screamed out in pain and began trashing around, trying to get Maria away from me but she was too strong.

It was a few moments later when the fire started. It burned from my neck and started to run through my veins. I trashed around even more, trying to get away from the pain. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." A soft voice said in my ear. I recognized it as Maria's. "It only makes it worse." I stopped moving immediately.

I heard footsteps and another person's voice, it was the voice of the black haired girl. "Do you need help?" I heard her ask. It was fuzzy though, the pain was almost too much to tolerate. "Yes Lucy, help me get these two back." Maria said.

Suddenly cold hands were grabbing at me and lifting me up into their arms. The pain rushing through me was so intense I couldn't stand to open my eyes to even see who was carrying me or even where we were going. I felt the wind hitting my back, ruffling my hair along with it and then…black.

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**_Please review? Press the pretty blue/purple button below :) Also, I will have pictures up of Maria, Nettie and Lucy on my profile soon, in case you are interested._**

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	4. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: _Okay everyone, I'm back and safe. Thankfully the flood waters never reached my house. It has been a very stress filled couple of days and I'm still trying to get over the shock that half of my town is now underwater and somehow our house and surrounding houses never got hit. Anyways, we are now in the process of cleaning up (which is a BIG mess thanks to the river water. Have you ever seen fish floating around town? I have, trust me it is disgusting) so I have no idea how often I will be able to update but I did get this done in the middle of all the chaos so here you go, chapter three! _**

**Disclaimer: _I don't own Twilight nor am I any way associated with it or its owners._**

**NOTE: (IMPORTANT. READ PLEASE) Someone brought it to my attention that they tried to review for this chapter but it wouldn't let them because they reviewed for the Author's Note that I had previously posted here. I deleted the Author's Note and then added this chapter here but people can not review now for some reason. I am not sure how to fix that but if anyone does can you please PM me or try and review if you didn't for the Author's Note because I'm not quite sure how to fix that. Anyways I apologize in advance for any of you who have problems reviewing. I'll try and fix it as soon as I can figure out how to first. Lol.**

**-musicormisery4105**

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**Chapter Three**

**BPOV**

-_**Texas 1863**_-

After what seemed like an eternity in hell I was finally able to open my eyes as the fire that had been burning through my veins began to lessen and before I knew it, it was completely gone. It was almost like it hadn't even been there to begin with but I knew better. I knew I would never be able to forget that feeling of pain no matter how long I lived. It would forever be burned into my memory.

Finally, my eyes fluttered open all the way. When they began to finally focus on things everything seemed icy clear.

The room I was in seemed unfamiliar. I knew that I had never been here before and wondered what I was doing in this strange room. But as I went to try and figure out how I got in this place everything turned fuzzy. I couldn't remember anything.

'_Why can't I remember?' _I asked myself sadly.

As I looked around the room I heard a slight shuffling sound. My eyes finally fell upon a man honey blond hair who was resting his head in his hands while sitting on a chair in the corner. Suddenly it came back, not all of it but little flashes of things. Jasper leaving to join the army and his return, walking on the dirt road and then meeting the tree pale girls. Finally I remember Maria sinking her teeth into my brother's neck while Jasper yelled for me to run.

"Jasper?" I asked hesitantly.

The man's head shot up and he looked up at me in surprise, "Yeah?" he answered.

I gasped as I took him in. The man had features that resembled my brother and had the same exact honey blond hair but this man was way too pale to be Jasper. Finally, the last thing I noticed, were the horrifying crimson eyes that were staring at me.

"What happened to you?" I asked him quietly.

"The same exact thing that happened to you." Jasper murmured in reply as he gestured to a mirror that hung on the wall.

I jumped up from the bed that I was laying in and ran to said mirror. When I reached it I gasped in shock when I saw what reflected in it.

I had always been pale but not pale like the girl in the mirror. Her skin was the true meaning of 'snow white.' She had long mahogany colored locks that fell down her back in loose waves. Her body was curvy and fit, like every girl would want. Her cheek bones were high, nose perfect, her plump lips a bright red. But the thing that stuck me the most were the sparkling red eyes that stared back at me.

I screamed, frightened by the red eyes and smashed the mirror with my fist. I was extremely surprised when my hand busted the wall as well the whole mirror which shattered to pieces and strangely, I felt no pain. I looked down with a grimace on my features expecting to me my hand cut and bleeding heaving but as I looked at my hand, it looked perfectly fine.

My mouth flew open and my eyes widened with shock, '_What the hell happened to me?' _I asked myself in horror.

I turned around in a flash and looked at Jasper who didn't look surprised, scared or confused at all, he just looked sad. I got right up in his face and trust my finger at him, "What the hell happened to me?" I asked him coldly. I knew it was wrong but I was taking my anger and confusion out on my brother, but it was obvious that he knew something that I didn't.

Jasper cringed slightly at my anger. Seconds later a feeling of calmness spread over me and my tense shoulders relaxed and I slowly returned to a normal stance. But despite the calm I was feeling, depression slowly started to seep through the cracks again. I felt tears building up behind my eyes but for some odd reason they wouldn't fall. Jasper stood up and brought me into a hug as dry sobs started to rack my body.

"What happened to us, Jazz?" I asked him, using his nickname from when we were kids.

"Maria will explain everything, Bells." He said following in a suit and using my childhood nickname. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you." Jasper whispered in my ear.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him, everything was so confusing. I hated not understanding what people were talking about and it seemed like everyone knew something I didn't and I truly hated that.

Jasper looked like he was about to respond but quickly snapped his mouth shut as soon as he opened it up. Seconds later, I heard footsteps and then the door to the room opened. Jasper pulled away from my and stood next to me, staring at the door. I looked up and Maria stood with a smug grin on her face. Behind her stood Nettie and the girl who I now assumed was Lucy. Nettie and Lucy looked at the shattered mirror with surprise while Maria's face was perfect stone, betraying no emotions. She waltzed into the room with perfect grace and stopped before me and Jasper.

"My, my, what happened here?" she asked, referring to the broken mirror.

Netter snorted, "It looks like someone attacked it!" she said.

"I—I broke it, and the wall." I said, looking at my feet. I assumed that they were going to be angry with me. After all, I had broken their mirror and their wall. But to my surprise the three of them burst into laughter. Jasper and I shared a confused glance.

"Don't be ashamed dear," Lucy said in a soft, hypnotizing voice. "It happens to all of us." She said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I was deeply confused, it was _not _normal for someone to completely shatter a window, plus part of a wall with their fist and not get hurt by it.

Maria looked towards Jasper, "Did you not tell her?" she asked him.

Jasper shook his head, "I thought you should."

"Alright." Maria said. She pointed to me, "Sit down." She commanded.

I looked at her in confusion and didn't sit, "Why?" I asked her.

"Just sit down." She said sharply.

I quickly obeyed and sat down on the bed while Jasper sat back down in the corner chair. Lucy sat down on one side of me while Nettie sat down on the other side. Maria sat down in a chair next to Jasper but she never took her gaze off me.

"Next time," Maria started, "I give you an order you follow through with it." She said sternly, leaving no room for argument. "Understood?"

I was about to retort but Jasper gave me a sharp look, almost as if he was warning me or something. Something in me told me that it was best to listen to Jasper. Finally I gave in, "Understood." I said quietly.

The room fell into a thick silence. Jasper, Nettie and Lucy were are fidgeting around in their seats while Maria just stared at me. Her eyes were practically made from stone, they were so cold.

"Isabella, have you even heard of vampires?" Maria asked me suddenly.

I nodded, "Yes." I said with a gulp. Although, I was confused why she would bring _them _up at a time like this.

Maria smiled, "Well then good, it won't take such a long time now to explain to obvious." Maria said, looking bitterly at Nettie.

Nettie glared at Maria, "It's not my fault I forgot everything after my change." Nettie said, almost as if she was defending herself.

Maria and Nettie then launched into a short verbal battle. Jasper sat quietly, observing the battle while I looked at them in confusion, not really understanding what they were arguing about in the first place.

"What are they babbling about?" I leaned over and asked Lucy.

Lucy giggled, "When Nettie first woke up from her change and Maria told her that she was a vampire, Nettie looked at her in confusion and then asked what a vampire was." Lucy said while laughing, obviously remembering the memory.

"Vampire?" I asked. My eyes shot over to Nettie. "You're a vampire?"

Nettie rolled her eyes, "Of course. Didn't you catch on when Maria bit you?" she asked.

I turned my eyes to the floor, feeling embarrassed but surprisingly my cheeks didn't burn like they normally did. I was glad when Lucy came to my rescue.

"You're one to talk." Lucy muttered after a few moments.

Netter glared at Lucy and was about to retort when a sharp voice interceded, "Enough!" Maria was looking at both Nettie and Lucy, her eyes blazing with anger. "Both of you, out!" she said.

Lucy and Nettie exchanged a small glance before they both left the room.

"How—what—why?" I stuttered after they left.

"Whatever do you mean, Isabella?" Maria asked.

I took a deep breath, "If you say I am a vampire," I shuttered at the word, "Why me? Why did you change me and what for?"

Maria smiled a bitter smile, "For the same reason I changed Jasper, there is something special about you Isabella. I have great plans for you."

"What kind of plans?" I asked her.

I noticed as Jasper cringed slightly in the seat he was sitting in, almost as if he was afraid of what Maria was getting ready to say.

"Territorial reasons." Maria said simply. "You and Jasper are going to help me get my hunting territories back."

"Hunting territories?" I asked.

Maria chuckled, "Hunting as in feeding. You have heard of vampires before, we need blood to survive. Later tonight we will take you out on your first hunting trip but that is beside the point. We Southern covens fight for our hunting territories. You see if we only have a few vampires in a large area then you can feed more without angering the Volturi or exposing ourselves to the humans."

"What are the Volturi?" I asked, confused.

"The Volturi are kind of like the rulers of the vampire world. They reside in Italy and have many royal guards who are full trained and skilled. They are the only ones that can stop us from our wars over territory." Maria explained before turning her head away. "They have done it before." She said bitterly.

"So you are asking me and Jasper to help you get your get back your territories?" I asked her.

Maria stood up and walked over to me, her eyes a bright crimson but yet somehow they were completely cold, almost chilling. "No," she said bluntly, "I'm _telling _you that you are going to help me."

"Why would I want to do that?" I asked. Jasper through me another look but I didn't stop.

Maria took another step towards me, looking me straight in the eyes. Her jaw was clenched and I could tell she was angry, "Because, if you don't I will kill you." she said.

I gulped loudly which made the corner's of Maria's mouth turn up slightly but not all the way. '_Do I really want to help a crazy territorial vampire fight in some huge vampire war over just getting killed now and getting it done and over with?_' I asked myself.

I looked over at Jasper who was silently pleading me just to stop arguing. I listened to Jasper and finally said, "Okay."

"Well then," Maria smiled a chilling smile, "I guess it is time to take you on your first hunt!" she said.

My eyes bugged out and the only thing I could think was, '_Hunt?'_

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**_So, I know it isn't much but here it is. Next time: Bella and Jasper's first hunt! The next chapter should be up in a few days depending on how busy I end up being. Anyways, please review because I love your reviews!!_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Authors Note:** **_Sorry for the long wait...I got busy with 'Too Little, Too Late?' and kinda forgot to update this story until I got a PM demanding for me to update, lol. So here is the update. It's a little short but I wanted to do the hunting scene on it's own without anything else really. I had some questions asked but most of them were done anonymously so I thought I would just answer them on my authors note._**

**_1. Someone asked if Jasper and Bella will be meeting up with Alice soon, the answer to that is no, probably not. At least not for at least six chapter...and I'm just guessing. I have no idea when exactly they will meet up or how long it will take for me to get to that point. I plan to stick to the story and do some of the events leading up to Jazz and Bella meeting up with Alice. There will even be some surprises thrown in. I feel like Jasper and Bella need some character development in this story and what I mean by that is: they went from being human to vampire so I feel like I should at least tell their story of how they dealt with it. _**

**_2. Another question was how long did I plan to make this story, in all honesty I have no clue how long this will end up being. I will just write and see where the story takes me. I once wrote a story planning on it to be only a few chapters and now its over twenty chapters and going on for 80,000 words long (its not posted because its not a fanfic just in case you are wondering). _**

**_So, I hope that answers your questions. If you have any others please feel free to ask. Now that I'm done rambling, here is the next chapter!_**

**Disclaimer: _I'm pretty sure that I don't own Twilight, although I do wish I owned Edward... -_drools_-_**

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**Chapter Four**

-_**Texas 1863**_-

"Hunt?" I asked Maria in confusion.

Jasper had a mild expression of horror on his face, almost like he already knew what was to come in the future. I gave him a confused glance but he wouldn't answer me. He avoided eye contact with me, almost as if he was ashamed or trying to protect me somehow.

"Yes hunting." Maria said with a cold laugh. "We will be going to the city so I suggest that you get cleaned up and dressed." she suggested, referring to my ripped clothing and the blood that covered it.

I looked down at my clothes in disgust. I hadn't even noticed that they were practically ripped to pieces and were covered in blood. I frowned slightly, "How can I get dressed?" I asked Maria. "All my clothes are at home, these clothes are all that I have." I said as I gestured to my destroyed clothing.

"Oh, that isn't a problem." Maria said. "Lucy and Nettie went to get both you and Jasper some clothing while you were undergoing your transformation."

"Oh." I said softly. "Thank you." I told her gratefully but Maria was hardly listening. She was too busy staring at Jasper for some odd reason.

'_Talk about rude.'_ I thought bitterly. '_Someone thanks you and you just ignore them to drool over their old brother._' I hardly even noticed when I let off a small growl that was thrown in Maria's directions. Jasper and Maria both turned to look at me in surprise but I ignored them as I stared down at my shoes.

"They placed it in your closet." Maria told her, deciding not to comment on my growl. "This will be your room for now. Oh course the bed isn't really necessary since vampires don't sleep but there is still a bathroom for you to freshen up in after the hunt." She said.

"Wait, we don't sleep?" I inquired.

Maria laughed, "Of course we don't. Not everything you hear about vampires is true. In fact, almost everything they same about vampires is false." she said. But quickly added a muttered, "Almost." to the end of her sentence.

"So there are no such things as vampires sleeping in coffins?" Jasper asked.

Maria shook her head, "Nope. And before you ask you can go out in the sunlight but I would advise you not to. It won't kill you but it will attract attention." She said. "Attention that we don't need." She murmured, slightly to herself.

"Oh, well what happens?" I asked.

"You sparkle." Maria said.

Jasper and I exchanged a wild glance before we both burst into laughter. Jasper and I both held our sides as we tried to catch our breath, although it seemed that we didn't really need it. Maria glared at us as we laughed. Once both Jasper and I had managed to calm ourselves down, the term 'looks-can-kill' was beginning to apply to the look on Maria was giving us.

"Are you done now?" she asked coldly.

Jasper nodded, "Sorry Maria." he apologized. "But seriously, sparkling?"

"It's true. But it most likely will be something you will never experience. For one, it draws way to much attention to us. I mean, if you walk out in the middle of the city and you are sparkling like a large diamond, I think that is going to cause people to be suspicious. We only come out at night to hunt and to fight for our territories, as I told you about." She gave me a small glare. "And you _will _be helping."

I nodded quickly.

"Good, now that we have come to an agreement I say its time to hunt." Maria said cheerfully.

I for one was slightly shocked at her mood change, as was Jasper. Maria stood up and waltzed towards the door and opened it. When Jasper and I didn't move the follow she turned around, a smile gracing her inhumanly beautiful features. "Well, aren't you coming?" she asked.

Jasper and I both shrugged. "I want to change first." I said.

Maria shook her head, "I know I said you need to clean up but you should wait. We don't want you messing up your new clothes. It isn't like anyone is going to see you anyways, Isabella."

"Well, okay then." I said reluctantly. I was learning that it probably wasn't best to argue with Maria.

"Let's go then!" Maria said excitedly before bounding out of the room at an extremely fast speed.

"What changed her mood?" I muttered to myself just below a whisper. I didn't think anyone would hear but Jasper turned around and gave me a toothy grin before he started to chuckle quietly while shaking his head.

"Somehow I have a feeling that you and Maria wont be getting along much." He commented.

"Got that right." I retorted before walking out of the room myself to find Lucy and Nettie staring at me with knowing smiles on their faces. I wasn't sure how they heard me with the door being closed. I had a feeling it was a vampire perk. I groaned, there probably wouldn't be any secrets around here if they could hear what we were saying through closed doors. I would have to watch what I said.

"Come on, Isabella." Nettie said happily to me. "Its time to hunt!"

'_Why does everyone get so giddy over hunting?_' I thought.

Next thing I knew, Nettie was dragging me out the door while Jasper, Lucy and Maria followed behind, laughing quietly to themselves.

* * *

It smelled sweet.

The most delicious smell I had ever smelt in my life was right before me—and I _had _to have it.

Without another thought my eyes zeroed in on my target. The one that smelled oh so good. A smile crossed my features as I made my way towards it. Then, I threw myself at the figure before me, tackling it down to the ground. It gave a soft yelp of pain but I was too fast. I silenced it before it could make anymore noise. I was running strictly from instincts as I lowered my mouth to the figure neck and bit down. A sweet liquid flowed into my mouth and I smiled to myself. It tasted so good. It tasted so much better than anything I had even tasted in my life. I needed more of it!

I found myself drinking happily until it was gone. No more of the delicious liquid would come from the figure, no matter how hard I tried to get more. I pouted slightly, wishing that I had more of the delicious liquid.

Well, that was until I saw what I had just attacked.

I stopped moving and stood frozen in absolute horror at what I had just done. I was unable to move from my crouch by the figure. I stared down at the cold, dead corpse that my mouth had just been attached to with what I am sure was a look of pure revulsion written across my face. When Maria had told us that she was taking us into the city to hunt I hadn't been quite sure what she meant when she said, 'hunt', but now that I knew—well lets just say that I don't like it to much.

'_This is hunting? This is what they got so excited about?' _I silently fumed.

Hunting. I hated it with every single inch of my being. I had just killed a human. I couldn't believe I had killed someone who was so fragile that they couldn't even begin to fight back. I had just killed the innocent. A dry sob escaped me but I still didn't move from my stance. I couldn't take my eyes off the young girl that I had just killed, sucked the blood dry of because I couldn't control myself. Guilt began to wash over me and I began to dry sob because of my shame.

"Bella?" Jasper asked.

I hadn't heard him come up behind me. I could tell that he was concerned; it practically oozed out of his voice.

"Bella?" he asked again. "Are you alright?"

He was right behind me at this point and I saw him take a sharp intake of breath when his line of vision zeroed in what I was looking at. I heard more footsteps and sensed that Maria was coming as well with Nettie and Lucy flanking her sides.

"Well, I see Bella has succeeded in her first hunt." Maria's chilling voice said in almost a mocking way. I had a feeling that Maria didn't like me much—although she _adored _Jasper.

"_This,_" I started, gesturing to the dead corpse, "is hunting? Murdering some innocent child is _hunting_? This is what you were so excited about?" My voice had raised an octave higher with my disbelief and anger. I was almost shaking because I was so mad.

I never get mad. People could do just about anything to me and I wouldn't get mad but Maria was pushing me way to far. Getting excited over murdering someone, it was just completely cruel. I couldn't believe it. I thought that Maria was cruel, but this? Murdering someone so innocent? This was crossing the line.

"Well you are a vampire, what else did you expect to eat?" Nettie snorted as she elbowed Lucy for support. Lucy didn't reply, instead she gave me a sympathetic smile. It was almost as if she knew how hard it was for me to comprehend I had to murder something just to eat.

Lucy came up to me and shrugged an arm around her shoulders while still giving me her sad smile, "I did the same thing when I was first changed but you get used to it in time." She told me in a low voice, most likely so the others wouldn't hear.

I smiled with gratitude at her, "Thanks Lucy." I thanked her.

"Its not problem." She replied.

'_Even though Maria possibly hates me at least Lucy doesn't seem to dislike me_.' I thought to myself.

"Let's finish the hunt. Sunrise is in a few hours and we need to be back at the house before it rises." Maria said before she took off, sprinting in some random direction with Nettie on her heels.

"I don't know if I can—" I choked off with a dry sob.

"It's alright sweetie, you don't have to right now but you will have to get used to it eventually." Lucy said sympathetically.

"What happens if we don't drink blood?" Jasper asked.

I jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. I hadn't realized he was still there. I thought he had left with Maria and Nettie but apparently he stayed.

I notice Lucy frown slightly at Jasper's question, "If you don't drink then you get really weak and if you get really weak, then Maria will kill you. You two seem really nice, I would try my hardest to get on Maria's good side or else you will be gone within the year." Lucy said softly.

"What do you mean by that? Why would she kill us?" I asked, slightly shocked by Lucy's confession.

"Maria only changes people into vampires so that they can help her fight for her territories. Newborn vampires are stronger than even the most experienced vampires. If you can control the newborns and get them to fight on your side you are practically unstoppable." Lucy explained. "Newborns will keep their amazing strength for about a year before they start to loose it. Maria feels that after a year the newborns are no longer useful so she kills them and then makes more newborns for the army. I've seen her do it many times." She said while shaking her head sadly. "You two seem different. It would be a shame to see you go."

Jasper and I nodded.

"Now, let's go hunt." Lucy said. "I like to go to the bad parts of the city and hunt there because then I feel like I'm not hurting innocent people. Prison camps are good places to go too."

Jasper chuckled, "I never thought of that. That could be my revenge on the Yankee's."

Lucy nodded happily, "Exactly my point." She said darkly.

I shook my head but giggled slightly before the three of us disappeared into the dark of the night.

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**So I know Bella might have been a little, or probably alot OCC when she lost control but I tried to get the point across that newborns can't control themselves when they hunt. So, thoughts? Questions? Comments? Anyways, please review :)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:Ah, so here I am, AT LAST, apologizing profusely. I've been extremely busy lately and haven't had that much time to write. I've had my younger cousin down for a while and have pretty much had to spend all my time entertaining her so it wasn't until a couple days ago I was even able to start on this chapter. So once again I apologize. This chapter is considerably longer than most of them have been so far--about 3,700 words--while most have been say, anywhere from 2,600 to 3,000. Anyways, I don't think you want to listen to me blab right now so go on, read the chapter! I hope you enjoy it! Anyways, last chapter I got less reviews but plenty of hits. _Please review_! They really encourage me to write and I also love to hear your ideas for the story. I am always looking for input on what you think can make my story better!**

**Disclaimer: _As always I don't own Twilight or anything associated with it. I am just using the characters, places and dates created by Stephenie Meyer to suit my own plot. If I could I would own all the Cullen men (for Stephenie has officially ruined all men for me as I am still hoping Edward will show up confessing his love for me...lol. kidding.) but sadly, I own nothing except Ralph._**

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**Chapter Five**

-_**Texas 1863**_-

"Are you finished feeding Bella?" Lucy's soft voice rang from the street and into to the alley where I had just killed my fourth meal that night.

"Almost!" I called back softly, although I knew she could still hear me.

I stared down at the two dead corpses which lay in a heap at my feet. While I had been walking around in the worst parts of town searching for a meal, I had stumbled across two men who were getting into it. They didn't even know what hit them. I had sucked them both dry before they could even react.

I still felt guilty about killing but at least I knew that I wasn't killing anyone innocent. The two men that I had killed were trying to kill each other over some business deal gone wrong.

I quickly discarded the evidence of my kill like Lucy had taught me and then left the alleyway. I waltzed into the dark street where Jasper and Lucy were waiting for me. Jasper smiled when he saw me, I managed a small smile back.

"Feeling better?" he asked, referring to my aversion to killing people.

I nodded slightly and kept my eyes trained to my feet, "I still feel guilty and I still don't like it but now that I know I am not killing the innocent it isn't all that bad." I told him truthfully. I still didn't agree with the concept of killing people to feed but I had come to understand that it was necessary for us as vampires.

"It gets better." Lucy said. "Eventually you won't have to feed as much. Right now since you are newborns you will have to feed a lot but as you live longer you will find that you don't have to feed constantly like you did when you first changed." She explained to us. "And look on the bright side—you are feeding to keep yourself strong and you are also helping people at the same time. You are killing off the people who would be a danger to innocent people out there in the world."

"I guess that makes sense." I told her.

Lucy smiled happily, "Glad you see it that way. Don't tell Maria about this though. If she knew about all the things that I'm telling you and teaching you she would think I am teaching you to be soft and she doesn't like that."

"Does Maria think she is ruler over everyone or something?" I asked in a bitter tone.

Lucy frowned slightly, "In a way I think she does. She wasn't always this way, you have to understand that. At one time she was just like you—new, innocent and confused."

"That's hard to believe." I muttered to myself.

Jasper heard and he snickered a little bit. But then he turned serious, I knew he was going to ask a question. "How did she change? And I am not just talking about changing into a vampire—how did she become like she is today?" he asked.

"When Maria was changed she was taught to fight, feed, dictate and be strong and that is about it. She didn't remember anything before her change aside from her name being Maria Veracruz and she that was changed in the middle of the woods after she got lost and a vampire found her. That vampire decided that she would be an excellent addition to his army so he changed her. When she awakened she was immediately brought into the war of fighting and superiority. Basically—this is all she knows. She doesn't know anything else and so she doesn't know that fighting isn't the only way to do things. I don't want you two to end up like she is. There is something special about you two, I know it. You two will become very powerful in this world of fighting and bloodshed. Just don't let it go to your head and don't turn out to be just like Maria is. It would be such a shame…" Lucy trailed off slightly and eyed both Jasper and I carefully.

"How do you know that we will be powerful?" Jasper asked. "You seem so sure of yourself, how can you know for sure?"

Lucy smiled a knowing smile, as if she knew something that we didn't. "I have my ways." She said.

I wondered what those _ways _were but before Jasper or I were able to question her on her choice of words, she continued. "We should find Maria and Nettie. Maria won't be too pleased if we are still here in the city at sunrise." Lucy commented with a grimace and with that she took off, leaving Jasper and I to follow.

* * *

"So what happens now?" I heard Jasper ask. We had just returned from the hunt, to my surprise Maria had seemed like she was in a better mood after feeding. But that was probably because she had stumbled upon three run-away Confederate soldiers. She bit all of them—with Nettie's help—and brought them back to the same place where Jasper and I were changed so that they could undergo the transformation as well.

It turned out that not long after Maria, Nettie and Lucy had decided to band together, the three vampires found an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods—far away from any of the other vampire's who were after them. Maria decided it would do good to use as a home base for taking vampires who were undergoing the transformation as well as newborns who needed to be trained. That was where we were residing now.

The cabin wasn't large but it had plenty of space. It was the typical two story cabin with a parlor, kitchen and dining room—although the dining room and kitchen were not used—and four bedrooms. There was plenty of space outside and Maria had informed us that training would take place in the grassy areas in the backyard behind the cabin.

We were now all seated in the parlor. The three soldiers that Maria had changed were all in the upstairs rooms. Maria had decided to have them go through their change in the upstairs rooms in hopes that it wouldn't be so noisy but no such luck. I could hear their screams with my oversensitive ears from where I sat in between Lucy and Nettie on a couch.

Breaking from my thoughts, I saw Maria roll her eyes slightly at my elder brother's question, almost as if the answer was completely obvious and Jasper was overlooking the answer. Which he probably was but who was I to judge that. I decided on sitting quietly until Maria decided to _grace _us with her answer.

"As you know Nettie, Lucy and I have formed an alliance. The three of us are all survivors of recently fought battles." Maria started.

Jasper interrupted, "But I thought women couldn't fight in the war." He commented.

Maria let out a laugh but it didn't reach her eyes, "Not that type of war Jasper. We aren't speaking of the silly war you humans are having." She said. Jasper looked insulted and looked like he was about to retort but suddenly stopped and didn't reply. But he still glared at her. "The war I am talking about is a territorial war between vampires. The one I told you about earlier." She said.

"Normally I am very careful about whom I choose to be part of the army but right now we don't have much time. After our last defeat—before Nettie and Lucy joined me—I was the only one of my leader's army left. We are practically defenseless at the moment. I changed the both of you to help fight but I think we need to find out what your powers are before we decide where I want you on the battlefield. Isn't that right, girls?" Maria asked, turning towards Nettie and Lucy who nodded in approval.

"Powers?" Jasper asked in confusion.

'_I am starting to think that vampires are very confusing._' I thought to myself. '_Either that or Maria just doesn't do a good job at explaining things.'_

"Yes, powers. Most vampires are blessed with either a special power or a trait that was passed on from when they were human." Nettie explained. "Maria is a tracker which means she can track people easily. Lucy has an enhanced intuition. She was the one who convinced Maria to change you—although Maria already felt that you two would be good for the job. And well, I have no power." She said with a small shrug.

_'Maybe that is why Lucy knows that we will be very powerful. Maybe it is her intuition telling her this.' _I thought to myself.

"So not all vampires get a trait or a power?" Jasper concluded.

Nettie nodded, "Not all of them but it is very rare when a vampire doesn't have a trait or power. I guess I am one of the special ones—or rather non-special ones." She muttered softly although I still heard her.

Maria snorted loudly and I watched as Nettie's face fell slightly and a quick flash of hurt sprung in her eyes but was gone before anyone else could notice it. Lucy and I both glared angrily at Maria. I was really starting to get annoyed with Maria. She was so rude to the other people around her and acted like she was superior over everyone else. I knew that this was everything she knew but it didn't give her the right to dictate over others and be rude constantly.

'_Newsflash—you aren't the dictator here Ms. Think-You-Know-It-All-Vampire!' _I thought angrily as I put my hand on Nettie arm.

Suddenly a feeling of calm spread through the tense atmosphere and everyone started to relax—except for Maria.

"What was that?" Maria demanded, her face a mixture of frustration, irritation and uncertainty.

"What was what?" Lucy asked Maria, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"That feeling." Maria said. "Everything was tense and then all of a sudden everything just calmed down."

Lucy shrugged, "Don't ask me." She said.

Maria turned her eyes to me and Nettie in a questioning matter. Nettie and I exchanged a glance and we both shook our heads. "I have no idea what it is. I am just as confused as you are, Maria." Nettie answered.

"I think it was me." I heard Jasper say slowly.

All of our heads snapped in Jasper's direction. I felt my eyes open wider in question. '_What is he talking about?_' I wondered silently to myself.

"What are you talking about Jasper?" Maria asked.

"Well, both Lucy and Bella's anger was rising fast and Nettie was feeling a mixture of both anger and hurt and if I know my sister any—if you get her mad enough she will act upon it. I didn't want a fight so I just thought about calming her down and calming everyone else down and then…" he trailed off. "Everything just calmed down."

"How do you know what everyone was feeling?" Lucy asked him.

Jasper shrugged, "I have no idea. I just do. It's just obvious for me." He explained. "I don't even have to think about it, it's almost as if I can feel what that person is feeling."

I looked from Lucy to Nettie to Maria. Lucy and Nettie's face both showed surprise with a trace of confusion but as I looked at Maria she had a large grin plastered on her face and an evil glint in her eyes.

"I think we have found your power Jasper." Maria said—her grin growing even bigger.

* * *

I watched for about the tenth time that day as Jasper defeated yet another vampire—ripping them to shreds or just biting them wherever he could. Although, most of the time he bit their neck. Maria said it was the most vulnerable spot and if you bit them there the other opponent stood no chance against you.

The other three Confederate soldiers had woken up after three days and Maria had put us straight up to training in the land behind the cabin. She had explained the concept of the fighting in more detail and explained how to fight other vampires. In all there had previously been seven of us. Maria, Nettie, Lucy, Jasper, myself and the three soldiers.

That was two weeks ago. Since then Maria had added six others to the mix. Four males and two females. They didn't even last a week before Jasper had killed them all during training.

I didn't particularly like fighting. I didn't have to grace that everyone else seemed to have while fighting but I did have the strength and I new the game well. Having a brother obsessed with military paid off I guess. Maria was impressed with both mine and Jasper's improvement in fighting although Maria had said that I probably wouldn't do much fighting. She had a more _important _job for me.

Lately Maria had been more tolerant and lenient of me. Ever since she had discovered my power—it was on accident really—she had been more acceptant of me. She said that both my power and my brother's power were very useful for her.

It had started out like any other day. We had only been staying with Maria for about four days at the time…

* * *

-_**Flashback**_-

_I was up against one of the soldiers that had just finished their change. They were much bigger than me and defiantly stronger but luckily, I was faster. The soldier's name was Ralph. He was around Jasper's age and was well muscled and tall. _

"_I don't want to hurt a pretty lady like you. I will go easy on you okay." Ralph had whispered before we even started._

_I snorted slightly at the male's ignorance. Men could be so judgmental towards women. Did they think that women were incapable of taking care of themselves? While some may not be able to, I knew that I was certainly able to take care of myself with no help._

"_There is no need for that." I said haughtily. _

_Ralph had just laughed and shook his head. I was defiantly going to make sure that I killed this one. _

_Normally I wouldn't actually kill the opponent like Jasper did. Maria often got a little ticked because she had to replace the vampires that we killed. I was going to make sure that I made Ralph suffer. _

_In a way I knew that I was changing. I wasn't the soft, innocent, little Bella that had been human but I had come to realize that I couldn't be so soft and innocent out here in a bloodthirsty world where there were always people who were out to destroy me for feeding on _'their' _hunting lands._

_Of course I still didn't like the killing and there was a part of me that would always hate the killing but there was a larger part of me—the vampire part—that actually enjoyed it._

_I watched as Ralph took a step towards me and fell into a crouch. I knew he was waiting for me to make the first move. I would make mine carefully._

_We started to circle each other slowly until finally Ralph got tired of waiting for me to make a move and he went in for the kill. That was his mistake. I was too fast for him and moved quickly out of his range. We fought like this for a while. Ralph would make a move at me but I would dance out of his way at the last second. I would give him a 'told-you-so' grin every single time he would miss me. _

_This seemed to irritate him to no end. _

_He was started to get more aggressive in his fighting and I knew I really needed to actually start fighting now instead of just dancing away from his attacks. While he had his back turned I pounced up onto his back ready to bite into his neck when suddenly he flipped me over his neck and pinned me down to the ground._

_I struggled and tried to get away but Ralph was a lot stronger than me. I started to panic as his mouth started to head towards my throat. I couldn't loose. I just couldn't._

'I wish I was invisible. I wish there was so way I could escape this' _I thought to myself in panic._

_Suddenly Ralph stopped and looked down at the ground where I was pinned in confusion. I took this time to flip him over and without another thought drove my teeth into his throat._

_Without glancing down at Ralph again I jumped back up to my feet and faced where Maria, Nettie, Lucy and Jasper stood watching. The thing that surprised me though was that they were staring at me with wide, open mouths._

"_What are you staring at?" I asked them after I had stood up._

_Nettie's mouth was hanging open in shock and she looked like she was gasping for breath as she tried to speak, "Bella—thin—air—disappear—voices—how?" she stuttered almost incoherently. _

"_Where are you Bella?" Jasper called out worriedly as his eyes surveyed the backyard in a frantic frenzy._

"_What are you talking about Jazz?" I asked my brother slowly._

_Maria for once was at loss for words. I was surprised. It seemed like she _always _had something to say._

"_What on earth are all of you blabbering about? I am right here!" I said as I marched right up to them and waved my hand in your face._

"_We can't see you Bells. You just disappeared right before Ralph almost bit you. I still can't see you. Where are you?" Jasper explained, his voice almost trembling._

'What is she babbling about? How could I possibly disappear?' _I thought to myself._

"_Are you crazy? It isn't possible for anyone to disappear into thin air." I scoffed, voicing my silent opinions for them all to hear._

_Nettie shook her head, "She's right. Unless—" she trailed off._

"_Bella I think we have finally discovered your power." Lucy said._

_A small smile crossed my face, "What is it?" I asked excitedly._

_Up until that point none of the other newborns besides Jasper had received a power. We had discovered that Jasper was able to feel and manipulate others feelings._

"_I think you can turn invisible." Lucy said._

-_**End Flashback**_-

* * *

We had figured out that my power was that I could make myself invisible. As cool as that sounds—it isn't all that really. As we practiced and experimented on my power we found that I could make my scent and any sounds I made disappear as well as my body. I could also make other's disappear as well.

I wasn't sure why on earth I would have gotten that power of all powers. Nettie had told Jasper and I that our power was a trait or a gift that we had previously had during our human life that was enhanced when we underwent the transformation from human to vampire. I knew that I was never able to disappear before so why did I get the power of invisibility?

Jasper thought it had something to do with the depression that I had fallen into when he had ran away to join the army. I'm not sure how he knew but he knew that I used to lock myself in my room away for hours while he was away and wallowed in my guilt and self-pity while trying to hide from the rest of the world. He thought that maybe that triggered the invisibility power now that I'm a vampire. Lucy and Nettie had agreed with Jasper and said that it was a very possible explaination while Maria had just scoffed at the idea of me trying to hide myself from others as a human.

But dispite how Maria had treated me when she first found out about my power, she had decided than instead of me doing most of the fighting, she wanted me to be her spy. She said that sense I was able to go out in the day (since I can make myself invisible and people wouldn't see me sparkle) I would be able to sneak up on our enemies and find out their every move. This actually pleased me. I would much rather sneak around than have to fight in battle. Without my invisibility and speed, I was pretty much defenseless—even with my newborn strength.

I shook my head slightly to clear my thoughts. My eyes refocused and I looked up in time to see Jasper look up from his kill and up at me. A triumphant smile was placed on his lips and his eyes were shining happily. Fighting was his thing—anyone could tell. He was practically made for it. It didn't surprise me at all that he hadn't lost a battle yet. Not even once. He always came out victorious.

I felt someone come up behind me and turned to face Maria. She was staring at Jasper with judgmental eyes—although I could tell by the spark in her eye that she was pleased with his success.

"Congratulations once again Jasper." Maria said in a sickly sweet voice. Jasper's gaze snapped from me to Maria in an instant. "You are better than most at combat. I am _very _pleased with you." She said, rolling the 'r' in 'very.' I knew that by that point I had been completely forgotten. In the short time we had been here I noticed that Jasper seemed to follow Maria around like a puppy dog.

"Thank you, ma'am." Jasper said happily in his southern accent.

"Now, I have a proposition for you." Maria said to him slowly with raised eyebrows.

"And what would that be?" My brother asked.

Maria smiled slightly, "I want you to help train the newborns. You are the best that I have seen in years, you really know your combat and the newborns seem to listen to you." She offered him.

Jasper grinned happily. "It would be an honor."

My jaw dropped in surprise. I was happy for my brother—I truly was. And he really deserved it but at the same time, I just couldn't believe it. Just like in the Confederate Army ranks, my brother was rising fast here in the ranks too and much to my surprise—so was I.

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**_So, what do you think? Thoughts? Comments? Ideas? Review please! No Flames!_**


	7. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: **_So guess what?! I'm back, temporarily. It's my spring break and I managed to squeeze some time in to work on this chapterthat has been sitting unfinished on my hard-drive for MONTHS. I apologize! Don't kill me! -_hides behind a grinning Jasper- _"Look, it's Jasper! He's back! Now please don't hurt me!" Anyways, here is the LONG AWAITED chapter six. I've gotten many, and when I say many, I mean MANY, PMs about when I would finish this story. Honestly, I'm up to my neck in school work usually. I'm not promising I'll be able to update often but know that I'm trying my best! I'm open to any ideas you have and if you have any questions leave them in a review or send me a PM. I'd LOVE to hear what you think! :) Reviews are AMAZING! Now without further ranting, here it is!_

**Disclaimer**_:_ _Even though its been forever since I've updated, I still don't own any of Twilight's characters or places. I've just decided to play with the plot a little. All I own is the four books and the special edition three-disk dvd_ :) _Although if Stephenie would tire of her characters I'd LOVE to own them. But until then...I own NOTHING!_

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**Chapter Six**

-**Texas 1864**-

If you would have told me two or three years ago that one day I would be a creature of the night that drank human blood. That I killed humans to be put into an army to fight over territory lands. Or told me that I would have special powers to make myself invisible. Well, I can guarantee that I probably would have laughed in your face.

Now, as I look at it, it is the norm for me. It was something that gradually I was getting used to. I was not happy with the fact I was killing innocent lives but what else could I do about it. I couldn't run crying to Maria and ask her nicely to stop the madness and set me free. That just wasn't how Maria does things. Once you are a part of her army, you are part of it until she grows bored of you. When she grew bored of you, she either killed you or if you were one of the lucky few that were on her good side, she set you free. I saw more death in a week than I had seen during my entire seventeen years as a human.

Luckily, the next year and a half went by quicker than I could have ever imagined. Maria didn't lead us into any major battles, as she was still trying to build up her army but I could sense a storm brewing in the horizon. I knew it was only a matter of time before things changed drastically, and frankly it scared me. I was not sure if this was a good or a bad change. Knowing Maria, it was probably a bad one.

But over time one thing remained the same—I never did get over my fear of hunting. I avoided hunting as much as possible. The only time I actually went was when my eyes were completely black. I knew Maria was frustrated by this fact but she depended on me way to much to kill me.

Maria depended on Jasper and I both more than I think she realized. Jasper was in charge of all the newborns that Maria created. With his ability to control the emotional atmosphere, the newborns didn't fight amongst themselves as much. Maria usually bit Civil War soldiers because not only were they already trained in combat but they also were usually healthy and quite strong, which gave our army an advantage. But there was also a downside to having the soldiers in our army. We always had the little issue of the soldiers getting into fights and then somehow ended up killing each other over something as stupid as 'You Ate My Human' or 'You Looked At Me The Wrong Way.' It got rather annoying when they would start fights like this and usually Lucy and I, who had become quite close to me in the past year or so, would roll our eyes at the immature actions of the newborns.

Besides Lucy and Jasper I didn't have many other friends. There was if course Peter, who was Maria's most trusted spy but other than the three of them, I didn't even bother pleasantries with the newborns. I was civil to Maria and Nettie but that was out of respect, not choice. Really, Nettie wasn't all that bad at times but Maria was a different story. She was truly a nightmare. She probably could have become the worlds first female dictator if she was human.

Maria was always put into a foul mood when she had to go find more newborns but usually that's what she used me for. Stealthily, in plain daylight, I would use my ability to turn myself invisible and then I would search towns, army camps and even prisons for humans that Maria would deem worthy of joining the army.

"Make sure to find the strongest, most intelligent and cooperative humans out of the bunch, Isabella." Her chillingly sweet voice had said to me when she sent me out on my first mission. "We can only have the best vampires in our army. The more cooperative and experienced they are, the less work Jasper has to do with them. Stay out for days watching them if you have to, just make sure you come back with healthy victims.

"How am I supposed to get them to come to me?" I had asked.

She laughed her sick laugh, "Do anything you have to do to lure them in. You are a beautiful vampire, use seduction. If that doesn't work, use strength and surprise to make your attack"

At first I went on these missions alone and I had no trouble whatsoever getting the foolish humans to come after me. Yet it was always a waste of time, going off by myself and spending days at a camp or town to only return with one soldier or human. Luckily, once we discovered that my power was a little more than we expected, I was able to bring others with me. As it turns out, I was able to spread my 'shield,' at will. I could use this power to make myself, as well as others and any objects I please, simply disappear from sight. Maria was extremely pleased with this factor and often sent Jasper and I out on missions together.

As it was, Jasper and I were out on a mission at this very moment. It was always nice for the both of us to just get away from the chaotic mess that we called our base camp.

"It's nice to get away, isn't it Bella?" Jasper voiced, almost as if he had read my thoughts.

We had decided to travel a little further out of the usual hunting grounds for once and headed into Louisiana for a change of scenery. Even though we never tired, we stopped just outside of army camp that we were going to search. Jasper sprawled out on the grass, still under my invisible cover to keep us from being noticed while I sat cross legged beside him. I had to leave the cover over both of us because of the obvious. If humans were to see two sparkling beings sprawled out on the grasslands just outside the camp, curiosity would get the better of them. The result would probably end up bad for them and good for Maria.

I grinned at my brother, shaking my head to get the other thoughts out of my head. "Of course. I don't know how much longer I can stand the tension between the soldiers. Even with your presence around, it's still so thick!" I cried while throwing my hands up.

"I do try my best to calm them down." Jasper protested.

I smiled softly, "I know you do, Jazz. I'm not blaming you for anything." I explained. Jasper turned his blood red eyes on me and motioned for me to continue, "If only the soldiers were not so stubborn and immature."

"Hey!" Jasper said with a laugh, "I resent that!"

I put my hand to my mouth and giggled behind it, "I know you were once a soldier, dear brother. You can't honestly expect me to believe you weren't just like the rest of them—hot headed and out of control."

Jasper shook his head, "Of course I wasn't. How do you think I got through the ranks so quickly? The commanders were impressed with my hard work and mannerism."

"So, are you telling me that even when you were in the military you were still a true southern gentlemen?" I asked with a sigh.

"Yes ma'am." Jasper replied with a cheeky grin.

I shook my head before my brother and I fell into a companionable silence. The place were we had decided to stop was grassy but had few flowers, as they had dried out from the outrageous Louisiana heat. There was a small pond before us and I walked over to it and knelt down beside it and looked at my reflection. It was one of the first times I had taken the time to truly take in my appearance. Ever since I had looked into the mirror after I first completed my change and had single handily broken it with my fist, I had taken to not caring about how I looked. But now as I looked at myself I shrank back in surprise.

I was no longer the tamed seventeen year old who was the daughter of a schoolteacher that lived by the rules and stayed locked away in her room reading. I didn't even resemble that girl anymore. I took in my wild vampiric features ranging in from my hair, my eyes and the way I dressed.

My once tame mane of brown hair was wildly windblown and tangled from running. My dark red eyes that were once a soft brown were still large yet they held a new fierceness and experience that had never been there before. My clothes were a whole new story, instead of the usual woman's dress I wore male clothing as it was easier to travel in than dresses. I gasped loudly and Jasper came quickly to see what was wrong. I saw his reflection looking over my shoulder in the water. His once soft golden locks were now twisted and kinda dirty from sprawling in the dirt. I closed my eyes and reflected on what we used to look like and then opened my eyes once more and took in our new appearances.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Jasper asked frantically. He took my by the shoulders and bended down to look me straight in the eyes. I turned away from him and a dry sob started to build up in my chest. "Bella, Bella! Please!" he pleaded with me. "Look at me, tell me what's wrong."

I turned away from him and pointed at our reflections, "Look at us!" I screeched at him. "We look nothing like we used to, or have you forgotten this already!"

Jasper too looked down at our reflections, he stood calmly while I was in my predator stance, "Bella, we're vampires now. We've looked like this for a while." He said, trying to calm me. He reached a hand out towards me and I ignored it, for the mean time. But his words only made me more upset.

"Jasper, don't you see? We're slowly loosing our humanity! You probably don't even care that you are killing hundreds of humans ever week. That you are taking their souls away from me and handing them over to the vile over-controlling bitch that we call Maria!" I was so angry, I was shaking. My emotions had done a complete one eighty. I didn't mean to take my anger out of my poor, unsuspecting older brother but I couldn't help it. What he was telling me was making me angrier.

I felt the familiar wave of calmness and peace begin to spread over me and I flinched away from my brother's hand, which was still hovering near me. "Do not try and calm me Jasper Whitlock!" I screamed.

"What is your problem?" Jasper said angrily. He was never one of be angry so I assumed my emotions were getting the best of him. "You were just fine earlier, what happened to you? Why are you acting like this?" He said, struggling to contain his anger.

"This is all your fault!" I hissed, lowering my crouch and glaring at him with everything in me.

"Like hell it is." Jasper replied with a snort.

"No, it is your entire fault. If you wouldn't have insisted that we go out on that damn walk Maria never would have found us. It's your fault that hundred of lives have been killed. It's your fault that you're a murderer and a monster. It's your fault that your own little sister has been turned into a creature of the night!" I said in a deadly calm voice brimming with unleashed anger.

I took slow, deliberate steps towards him and with ever word that escaped my lips I saw Jasper shrink back. Ever word I said hurt and cut him deep and I knew it. I just wouldn't stop. And then I uttered the words I never thought I would say.

"I hate you Jasper Whitlock! I wish that you would have just died as a human, it surely would have been better than this!" And with that I took my shield off of my brother and ran as fast I could away from him, not caring if any humans saw him or not.

It wasn't until I was several miles away from the camp that the guilt of what I had said to Jasper really, truly sunk it. And when it did I couldn't stop it. It all hit me like a tidal wave. The guilt was overwhelming but I couldn't bring myself to return to him and apologize just yet.

Up until that point in time Jasper and I had never fought. We were both such level headed people that we just never bumped heads. I guess all the stress and tension from the base camp and then the shock of seeing my appearance for the first time in over a year and a half had brought on all the unwanted emotions and then unluckily, Jasper was the target I took all my anger out of.

I collapsed against a lone boulder and started to sob to myself, "Oh, what have a done!" I cried out loud at the blue sky.

I don't know how long I sat at that boulder, wallowing in self misery and thinking through, well, everything. But my thoughts were interrupted by a blood curdling scream that came from the direction I had left Jasper. Had he continued the search without me? Did someone see him? Had they spotted him and come after him? Did he loose control and kill someone?

Without another thought I jumped up and sprinted in the direction of where the sound was coming from. I sniffed the air and smelt fresh blood. "Jasper?" I called out. "Jasper!" When I got no answer I started to get scared. I pushed myself faster and in no time I saw Jasper's sparkling figure standing over a beautiful woman who was looking up at him with terrified eyes.

"No!"

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**Any guesses on who the woman is? Yes she is from Twilight but she probably isn't who you are suspecting! ****I left you with a small, or maybe quite possibly a BIG cliffie. I won't update unless you review, so tell me what you think! Hate? Like? Love? Please leave me something from your thoughts, even if it's one word! -**gives puppy dog pout- **Please and thankyou!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:** **Hey, I'm back and with the new chapter :) I hope you all enjoy it. I wanted to get this up quick for you all. I went over it as much as I could but if there are any mistakes, don't get too upset over them. Anyways, this chapter reveals who the woman is that Jasper attacked and has some sibling Jasper/Bella time! I know everyone is anxious for the Edward/Bella but I can't promise anything concerning them. That's for the second half the the story and we aren't close to that yet so for now we can settle for some sibling bonding and some new friendships, and maybe some enemies? Tell, hope you enjoy it. Also I'm uploading a new story soon, it's completely original but I'll quit yapping right now about that and explain the story at the bottom! Thank you ALL for the reviews, I'm glad that you all are still so into the story! We have over 7,000 hits, 65 faves and 107 alerts. Now all you 107 people who have my story on alert, send some reviews telling me what you think. I don't care if it's one word or even just a smiley face. I'd love to hear what you think!**

**- RiP.**

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**Chapter Seven**

- _**Texas, 1864**_ -

I stared at Jasper and the woman in sheer horror. In literally three seconds I took in the scene before me. She was wounded, I could see that much. She was also very pretty. The woman had curly blonde hair, was about average height and was clothed in a nurse's uniform. She was lying on the ground, shaking in fear while propped up slightly on her elbows. Jasper was in a crouch, standing above her. His blonde hair waving slightly in the almost non-existent breeze, his burgundy eyes were wild with hunger at the smell of fresh blood but strangely enough it was his skin that I looked at. His skin, it was alight and sparkling like thousands of diamonds. I had seen the others of the army sparkle before, but mostly we worked and trained at night just because it was easier. But, seeing Jasper sparkle in the light almost made me falter. _Almost_.

I shook my head and sped over to the scene, all the while cursing Jasper in my mind. It was one thing attacking soldiers but it was a whole other attacking defenseless women. Before I knew exactly what I was doing I tackled Jasper down onto the ground. He let out a furious growl of protest. It shocked me, Jasper had _never _growled at me. _Never_.

He took advantage of my astonishment and went after the woman. Before I could even begin to think about stopping him, he had her chin in his hand, yanking it carelessly to the side and sunk his sharp teeth into her neck. The smell of her blood almost got to me. _Almost_.

But all I could see was red. I couldn't believe my own brother would be so foolish as to attack a young woman. I ran over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Jasper!" I cried out. I tried to get his attention diverted from his feeding frenzy to listen to me.

"Jasper, please! Stop it!" I cried out.

The woman let out a shrill scream. I knew I needed to either get Jasper off and away from her or I needed to get the woman to be quiet. The _last _thing we needed was people finding us.

"Jasper, stop it! You're killing her! You're killing a woman, a defenseless woman. What the hell are you thinking!" I screamed at him.

This finally got his attention. I saw him stiffen and pull himself away from the woman's body with a start. He looked up at me from his crouch and put his fist to his mouth and nose. I looked at him in shock. His once burgundy eyes were now a bright, glowing crimson. I glared back at him in disgust for a few moments before I ran and knelt at the woman's side. I held my breath, careful not to inhale and take in the scent of her blood. She started squirming and withering around and I knew it was time to get both the woman and Jasper away from the city and someplace safer.

I heard shouting in the distance, coming from the army camp walls. They either heard my shouting at Jasper or the woman's shrill screaming which was becoming louder and more heartbreaking as the seconds dragged on.

"We have to get out of here." I said.

Jasper nodded quietly. I picked the woman up bridal style in my arms and began to run with Jasper on my tail. I knew that as soon as we stopped that one, I needed to apologize at my brother, two, we needed to take care of the woman and three, I needed to reprimand my brother some more for his foolish and idiotic actions.

-x-x-x-

New army members for _the bitch _totally forgotten, we ran for what seemed like hours. Or, well until we reached some place far enough from civilization that no one heard the young nurse's shrill screams. We didn't know her name so we just kind of referred to her as 'the nurse.' Hopefully we'd find out her name soon enough anyways.

Her screams cut me deep, they really did. In my whole year or so of being with Maria I had seen a lot of death, heard a lot of pleads and saw _a lot _of blood. But nothing prepared me for this. I had watched my own brother attack a defenseless woman. Said woman was now withering around in pain, screaming at us to kill her now and make the fire go away. Yet I couldn't do anything but sit and watch her scream. There was nothing else I _could _do.

Jasper had taken off shortly after we had stopped to 'rest' and let the nurse rest as well. I wasn't sure exactly where he went but I didn't protest when he sat the nurse down and took off running in a random direction. He would be back, I knew he would. He just needed time to think.

"Please—please!" the nurse's pleases cut me off from my thoughts. "Please!" she screamed, louder this time than the others. The saddest part, was she wasn't even a day into the change. The worst is yet to come.

I knelt next to the woman and put my cold hand on her forehead. This seemed to relax her just a tiny bit. I knew my cold hands probably felt wondrous next to the burning of the change, so I let them be.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered to her. "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

I didn't know if she heard me but I needed to tell her anyways. It wasn't Jasper's fault. It was mine, all mine. I felt a strange connection to her. It was probably stupid but I felt like I needed to explain myself to her. And in doing so, I admitted something I didn't even realize I was feeling.

"It's my fault you are going to be stuck like this. A vampire, I mean. I was so stupid. I overreacted and yelled at my brother, Jasper. He's the one who changed you. Please don't be angry with him. Sometimes he can't control himself. It's very hard. I'm sure you will understand sometime very soon. I guess vampire life isn't all that bad, once you get past all the killing and everything. It just gets lonely sometimes. Yes, I love my brother and I love my friends Lucy and Peter—if you don't run away from us once you finish the change you will get to meet them. I love my friends but I feel like something is missing, or rather some_one _is missing. But how can I be for sure. I'm just a useless romantic bloodsucking monster." I whispered to the woman. I ran my free hand through her mangled locks.

"You aren't a monster Bella." A familiar voice called out.

I turned my attention away from the heartbreaking wails of the woman to look at the familiar form of my brother. He gave me a sheepish smile before tilting his head down to look at his feet.

"You aren't a monster sis, if anything—I'm the monster. I messed up, big time. And then I couldn't even face my problem in the face. You had to sit her and clean up my mess, pick up the pieces. I'm a coward." He admitted.

I got up off my feet and walked towards him without a single work in response. I couldn't stand fighting with the ones I loved. Sometimes I wished that I could hold grudges but unfortunately, it was nearly impossible for me to stay mad. Short fuse but quick to forgive, that's just me for you.

"I'm so sorry Bella, you were right. Everything is my fault. And I literally mean—everything. Not just this here but the fact that we are like this. And I'm so, so incredibly sorry. I didn't even realize how much you were suffering until you told me. Why didn't you tell me Bells? You're my little sister. It is my job to protect you."

I grit my teeth, "If being a vampire has taught me anything, it's that I have to take care of myself. You can't always do that for me Jasper. And I had no right to blame you for everything, it's nobody's fault that we are stuck like this. Who knows? Maybe this is for the best, maybe something good with come out of this. Maybe not right this minute but eventually."

"How can you be so optimistic?" He teased, picking up on our previous banter.

I beamed up at him, "Only to get rid of your pessimism!" I chanted back.

"I hate fighting with you." Jasper said quietly.

"I know, I shouldn't have taken my frustration out on you. So I'm sorry." I replied.

He grinned, "And I'm sorry too." Jasper suddenly changed expression, "Did you mea what you said to her?"

"Which part?" I asked. "I meant all of it, if that's what you meant."

"Well, specifically I was referring to the fact that you were talking about getting lonely. Do you really get lonely at camp? I know lately I haven't hung out with you and spent time with you as much as I should. Maria has always got me training the newborns." He explained to me.

I waved him off slightly, not wanting him to see how much that little training actually did bother me, "Nah, it's not your fault. I didn't mean that type of lonely anyways. When you aren't around I go find Lucy or Peter to bother." And I meant it, it wasn't his fault. The one I really resented was Maria.

"Well then what type of loneliness are you referring to ma'am?" Jasper asked. I glared at him and flushed slightly, or well, if I was human I would have flushed. "Why am I getting embarrassment from you right now? Isabella! What aren't you telling me?"

I glared again, "I'm embarrassed but not—you just wouldn't understand. You're such a _boy! _Plus you're my brother for goodness sake. I shouldn't be discussing this with you right now."

"Who else are you going to discuss it with, the clouds or the air?" My lovely brother sarcastically replied.

I reached out and slapped his arm, "Shove off it, jerk. I could talk to the nurse about it. She's a girl, I bet she could sympathize."

"What's up with all this girly business anyways, can a man not talk with a lady?" Jasper asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, "Of course they can but not about this, Jazz."

He replied simply, "Try me."

"Okay, well I'm lonely—romantically." I told him, speaking only just above a whisper.

He looked at me with expected eyes, "And…?" he motioned for me to continue.

I sat back a little and watched him with a surprised expression, "You are really okay with this? No over protective big brother-ness? No defending my honor? No saying, 'you are too young?' No—" Jasper cut off my rant.

"You were right earlier, I was being stupid and you caught me out on it. I can't always control you. You wanna know what? You aren't a little girl anymore either and I have to accept that now."

If I could have cried, I probably would have been. Jasper wasn't one for words on many occasions and this conversation we had been having was probably the most be had even spoken at one time.

I reached over and hugged my brother tightly, "Thank you Jasper. I'm glad that you are finally accepting that."

"So tell me—" he started to speak but was cut off by a scream.

I sighed, I had honestly forgotten about the nurse in our emotional conversation and apologies. I walked over to the nurse and Jasper followed. I got back down into my previous position and Jasper was able to copy my movements.

"So what now?" he asked, staring sadly at the woman.

I sighed, "I don't really know, Jazz."

Jasper stood up and paced a little bit, with a serious expression etched onto his features, "I should probably be the first one to talk to her, when she wakes up I mean."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." I warned.

"Why not?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes, "Jasper, if she remembers you attacking her, what do you think the first thing she is going to do is?" I asked him.

"Oh." He said simply.

"Yes 'Oh' and we can't spend all day going on a hen chase with a newborn vampire. We need to keep her calm and explain things to her." I explained.

He ran his hand through his hair, "So you think you should talk to her first."

"More than likely," I replied.

"Okay. So now we wait?" he asked.

I nodded, "Now we wait."

-x-x-x-

The next two days went by in what seemed like an agonizingly slow process. I knew Maria wasn't expecting us back right away. We often spent three to four days out on trips, depending on how long it took us to get to where we were going and back.

Jasper and I continued our conversation while watching over the woman and Jasper talked to me about his 'female issues' as well. He knew his soul mate was waiting out there for him somewhere he just didn't know where.

"So you don't like Maria?" I had asked, in a frightened voice.

"What!?" he exclaimed. "How in the world could you think that?"

I shrugged, "You always seemed to I don't know, like her more than the rest of us."

He shook his head, "As they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer." He told me. "Of course I don't like Maria, but I can't exactly go against her. I was taught to obey orders and that's what I'm doing."

"Even if it's wrong?" I pondered out loud.

He sighed, "Yes, even if it's wrong."

And that had been the end of that conversation. We switched to lighter topics and even ventured to talk about our folks. We both worried about them a lot. We knew that losing their two children was probably extremely hard on them. And even though John and Lillie would legally my parents, I loved them as my own and missed them dearly. Someday I hope to visit them, see how they are doing but make sure that they don't see me. That would be potentially dangerous.

"Bella!" Jasper broke me from my thoughts. I kept getting lost in them as of late.

"What?" I turned my eyes on him, wondering what he wanted.

"Her heart beat is dropping." He told me, gesturing wildly to the lady.

We stood around her as her heartbeat continued to drop. I knew the last few minutes of the change we the hardest, and then it suddenly stopped. I listened helplessly as her screams grew louder. Her voice was raw and hoarse from the constant screaming. She couldn't help it though. There was nothing that she could really do to help herself and stop herself from screaming. The pain was just too much.

"It'll be over soon." I crooned to her.

As the words left my mouth, her screams halted and as I listened her heart beat was no longer thumping. "It's over." Jasper whispered.

We waited until the girl opened her crimson eyes. Jasper backed up and sat on a tree stump, while using his ability to calm the girls nerves. I put on my sweet face and smiled at the girl, "Hello." I said.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled back hesitantly, "Hi."

"What is your name?" I asked her.

"Charlotte." She answered.

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**So there you go! You like? Congrats to those who quessed correctly. Also, leave me your thoughts in a review.**

**Now, onto my new story, Midnight Tryst. **

**So I've been working on the story for over two years now, and it's been through complete and total hell let me tell you. It's an original story with my own characters and ideas and everything. It's got a _slight bit _of a Twilight base though and I give Stephenie Meyer full credit for her vampires and vegeterian vamps which are present in my story although here are alot of differences as well. Yes it's a vamp story as well as other mythical creatures present as well as humans. You also have your ever present drama and love triangles. So I would LOVE for you to check it out. But FIRST, I want some responses telling me if you even like the story first. What is the use of posting it if no one will read it. So I will give you the summery, and an incerpt and then either PM me or send a review telling me what you think.**

**SUMMERY: **Amber Mason's humanity was stolen from her by a vampire but saved by a mysterious creature. Now she has to return to her highschool while pretending to still be human but she also has the difficult task of surviving as a vampire. And ontop of all that mess, the vampire who changed her is out for revenge on her new vampire family but her unrequited crush (whom her vampire family does not approve of), Bentley Rivera is in a whole different type of danger. She has to chose: Family or Bentley?

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**PREVIEW:**

Roxie was sitting beside me laughing as Matt almost choked on a burnt marshmallow that not even five minutes ago he had been roasting over the fire. While still having my eyes locked with the red ones in the forest, I felt around with my hand for Roxie and tried to find some way to get her attention without getting anyone else's. I finally felt the back of Roxie's t-shirt and yanked it forcefully. Roxie came tumbling down beside me on her back. She turned to glare at me but I was too busy worrying about the eyes.

Roxie turned to me, her eyes were fuming but I didn't even notice, "What the hell do you think—" Roxie started but I quickly cut her off in my terrified state.

"Not now Roxie." I hissed quietly to her.

She was getting angrier and more confused by the second. "What the hell is your freaking problem Amber!" she whisper-yelled.

Without taking my eyes from those acute red ones I started to speak to Roxie in a low whisper, "Look out on the edge of the woods and tell me if you see anything strange." I told her.

I didn't turn around to watch as Roxie did this but as soon as I heard her soft gasp I knew that she had saw it. I watched as she pointed out towards the eyes with a shaky finger, "Re—re—red eyes." She stuttered in surprise.

I nodded briefly. I felt Roxie move forwards slightly so that she could get a better view of whatever was standing in the woods, watching them with hate filled eyes. I vaguely noticed that the eyes were narrowing at Roxie and I and were becoming a darker burgundy. What kind of eyes change colors that quick? Something was wrong—very wrong.

I heard a small shriek come from behind us and then Olivia's soft voice, "Aww shit—I cut my finger on that knife. Now it's bleeding! Did anyone remeber to pack those bandages?" she murmured under her breath slightly.

Before Roxie and I could even think about reacting, six blurs suddenly shot out of the forest with surprisingly amazing speed. So it _was_ the things from earlier. All those things that Matt and I had seen earlier were all connected. Right now was not the time to think though. Roxie and I screamed bloody murder and jumped back towards the fire in surprise.

_'This is not good, not at all!'_ I thought helplessly.

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**So, if you like it so far, I'm posting it up. It will be under the VAMPIRES section though, not the Twilight since it is not really Twilight related. Anyways, send me a PM!**


	9. Chapter 8

**AUTHORS NOTE: _I apologize for the long wait, frankly I was having a bit of writers block and kind of got caught up in my other story,_ MIDNIGHT TRYST _(which you all should check out, by the way). I didn't even realize I had abandoned this story!__I started writing today and everything just clicked together. This is a long, very eventful chapter. You all will be SHOCKED towards the end, and not so happy with Jasper I can tell you now. I having problems with having ideas, so that's why the chapters are coming out so slowly. I know where I want to have the story go, it's the fillers that I'm having problems with. This story time-line is about the span of one hundred some years, and I don't want to skip around too much. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to. Let me know if you have any thoughts on this, now here is Chapter Eight. Remember to review and check out_ Midnight Tryst _if you wish :)_**

**_- R I P ._**

**On one last note, this chapter is dedicated to **Russetstorm**, who just happens to be a faithful reviewer from my story Midnight Tryst who made me get this chapter out to you all. I wouldn't have even realized I was abandoning this story if it wasn't for you! So thanks **Russetstorm** :) **

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**Chapter Eight**

- _**Texas, 1864**_ -

The girl told me her name was Charlotte. '_Well Charlotte, looks like my vampire brother her attacked you during a time of weakness and bit her. You went through a vampire change and guess what? Now you're a vampire. Now you get to come home with us and be part of a nasty vampire army and be controlled by a stupid tyrant bitch named Maria. You in?_' I thought sarcastically.

I could never actually tell her that though. There was absolutely no way. It would scare her too much. The last thing that Jasper and I needed was a brand new vampire that we had created on the loose. Maria would have our necks if she ever found out that we had let one of her precious newborns get away from us. We had to be nice and charming and almost trick the newborns into coming back with us. It was wrong, but it was our way of life. Something we had all had to get used to.

"Hi Charlotte, I'm Isabella Whitlock." I held out my hand to her to help her up.

"H-hello." She said shakily. "W-what am I d-doing here? H-how did I get h-here?"

She then noticed my hand and took it appreciatively but used her own two feet to stand up. I watched as she sat up with her new found inhuman speed—of which she did not know of yet. Her eyes grew wide and she almost fell over, not expecting the momentum of which she was traveling.

"How did I…?" She trailed off in confusion.

"There is so much to explain." I murmured to her. '_Where to start?_'

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain." I said slowly and sweetly. Still trying to charm her into thinking we were the good guys. Unfortunately for her, we weren't. Not that it was our choice.

Jasper finally stood up, "Isabella's right, you'll have to come back with us."

I almost groaned as Jasper spoke, '_The whole point was to ease her into it! As soon as she sees him, she's going to freak out_.'

Charlotte looked up from where her eyes had been trained on the ground. When she finally got a good look at Jasper, she jumped back around five feet and fell into a crouch, "I'm not going _anywhere _with you! You attacked me!" she screeched.

I took a careful step towards her, "Please Charlotte, what happened was an accident. He didn't mean to attack you, if anything we saved you." I pleaded with her. '_Not likely. You didn't save her. If anything, you're handing her to the wolves._' My conscious told me.

She froze and turned to look at me, "Why should I trust you." She said lowly.

"Because we saved you." I replied.

Charlotte looked totally and utterly lost and looked like she was about to cry at any moment. That is, if she could cry. I knew what it was like to be her—to be frightened, mislaid and bewildered. I reached out my hand towards her, if she took it then everything would be okay. If she didn't take it, she would probably end up trying to run away. Then, we'd run after her. We'd be forced to take other measures to ensure that she got back to camp with us.

She took two steps towards me then stopped. She eyed me up and down, and then turned her eyes to Jasper. I knew she was most cautious about him. She remembered what he had done to her and she was fearful of him, unsure if she could trust her aggressor.

"Please," Jasper finally said. His voice smooth like honey, he was obviously trying to charm her. "I promise I won't hurt you ever again. What happened was an unfortunate accident and I promise it won't happen again. You'll understand when we get to where we're going. I promise that everything will be explained. So please, take Isabella's hand. You can trust us. We'll keep you safe and answer any questions within reason."

It was the moment of truth. We had said all that we could say, it was up to Charlotte now. She had to make her choice. I took an unnecessarily gulp of air and then giddily watched as she reached out and took my hand firmly with a small smile on her face.

"I trust you." She said. Then she turned her eyes on Jasper, "But I'm wary of you Jasper. I don't trust you—yet. You will explain everything to me." She said sternly.

Jasper grinned, "Yes ma'am." He said.

"Oh course, Jasper, ever the gentlemen." I teased him.

He grinned at me, "That's how I was raised, sweetheart."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at our conversation, "Are you two together?" she asked.

Jasper and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. Charlotte was startled by our laughter and was about to take a step backwards but I held my hand out again, silently asking her to stop and stay put.

I shook my head, "No, Jasper is my _brother_. We are not together, if that's what you're asking."

"You two are brother and sister?" she asked suspiciously. "You look nothing alike." She pointed out.

Jasper nodded, "Well I guess we aren't biologically brother and sister but my parents took little Bella here in after her parents were killed when she was really young." He explained. "So we're basically brother and sister. That would be a little weird—dating my sister. That's just—"

"Weird." I finished for him with a laugh.

Charlotte nodded, "I can see how that would be just a little weird. I'm sorry, I didn't know and since he called you sweetheart I just assumed…" she trailed off in embarrassment.

Jasper smiled, "It's alright. I was just teasing Bella. There's no need to be embarrassed, Charlotte. It was a little mistake, a common one at that. Since we don't exactly look like we are related people always rule out that we are brother and sister and assume we are together, which is far from the truth. We're used to that by now though. Anyways, we need to get back," he was talking to me now more than he was Charlotte. "Maria's expecting us soon."

"Maria?" Charlotte asked.

I nodded, unsure how to approach this topic, "Maria: the bitch of all bitches. You'll get to meet her soon."

Jasper slapped my arm, "Maria isn't a bitch." He defended her.

"That's only because she has her eyes on you Jasper, you're her favorite so of course she doesn't release Her Royal Bitchiness on you!" I exclaimed. I turned to Charlotte, "She isn't that bad I guess, it's just—Maria and I don't exactly get along. She only puts up with me because Jasper is my brother and because she needs me, rather she likes to acknowledge that fact or not."

"You see, we live with other of our—well, who are like us, I guess you can say." Jasper explained. "You'll get to meet them all soon. You'll probably end up staying with us. Some of the people who live with us are nicer than other though, I'd watch out for more of the—unkind—people who live with us. I'm sure Bella here can point them out to you." He said with a teasing glance my way.

"Of course," I said sarcastically. It was known that I didn't get along with many of the vampires who lived with us. Lucy and Peter we're two of the only exceptions.

I stood up, wiping the dust from my clothes. Jasper did the same before we both looked at Charlotte. "We'll need to get you some new clothes when we get back to camp." Jasper said with a sharp laugh.

Charlotte's clothes we're pretty much destroyed. They were ripped, bloody and torn. It looked basically like something had attacked her and killed her, which wasn't far off from the truth.

"Camp? Is that the place that you guys were referring to, the place that you live?" Charlotte asked.

I nodded and then spoke, "Yes, and we really should be getting back."

"How are we getting there?" she asked us. "I don't see any horses or carriages." She pointed out. Jasper and I watched in amusement as she furrowed her eyebrows and searched around her for any sign of how we were getting home.

"No silly," I said with a laugh, "We're running back."

"Running?" Charlotte looked shocked, "But won't we get tired? You must live a long ways away."

Jasper shook his head, "Running is natural for us, for you now too. I promise, you won't get tired." He explained. "But, it may be hard for you to run in that dress of yours. If you want, I can carry you."

Charlotte started to object the idea completely, I could tell, but I spoke before she was able to get a single complaint out. "It really is the easiest way, you'll see. Trust me, running in dresses in a pain. Jasper will carry you on his back on our way back to camp."

"But I'll be too heavy for you, I'll slow you down." She protested.

"No you won't," Jasper reassured her, "Trust me. I've carried much heavier before."

She looked weary but Jasper surprised her by picking her up with ease and slinging her onto his back. We looked at each other with a nod before taking off running. Charlotte gasped with surprise, "How are you going so fast?" she asked in shock.

I smiled as I ran, it always relaxed me. I was not looking forward to getting back home and dealing with Maria, "All will be explained soon." I knew I was being cryptic, but it was the only way.

"Okay," she finally said.

The rest of the run was in silence. It took us only a few hours to return back to camp since we weren't searching for soldiers to capture. Charlotte didn't complain at all. In fact, if I wouldn't have known better I would have thought she fell asleep while riding on Jasper's back. But, sleeping was impossible for vampires, so I knew she was just resting—probably from boredom.

Upon reaching camp, I warned Charlotte, "We're almost there. Do not be frightened if you see anyone fighting or getting into it. It's normal for that to happen. Not everyone who lives with us gets along." I said.

Jasper snorted, "That's an understatement."

Sure enough when we ran over the hill that led into the valley that our little camp was stationed in, a few of the soldier vampires had gotten into it. It was quite comical. From what I could see one of the Northern soldier, I think his name was Thomas, had insulted a two Southern solider, their names were Lucas and Jerry. This resulted into a brawl that instead of involving three men, now involved eight or nine. I saw Maria standing on the side-lines with her hands on her hips, her red eyes glowing brightly in anger. She was yelling at them, threatening that if they didn't break it up, they were all going to be dead.

"What are they doing?" Charlotte asked in wonder.

"Thomas insulted Lucas and Jerry, this resulted into an argument. The woman that's screaming at them all—that's Maria. She isn't someone you want to mess with when she is angry." I explained.

"And this happens often?" she asked us.

Jasper and I both nodded, "Frequently." Jasper said with a laugh.

"It is entertainment for most of us, and rarely anything bad happens but it always makes Maria paranoid." I said.

Charlotte simply nodded and we ran down the hill into the mess of the brawl, stopped just a few feet from where two men where tangled on the ground, punching at each other. Suddenly everything stopped. Eleven pairs of eyes landed on us and stared, most at Charlotte though. Fresh meat.

"Hey!" A male voice rang out through the silence, "Jasper and Isabella are back, and they brought themselves a pretty ol' lady back with 'em!" The man, Benjamin, yelled out in a thick, Kentucky accent.

Most of the newborn were male. Maria, Nettie, Lucy and I were really the only woman that the men were around on a daily basis. Maria didn't really like us changing woman, she said it was useless because usually the woman never amounted to anything. Men were much stronger and they were more useful towards the cause, especially soldiers. Because of this, whenever a woman was brought around, the men made a big deal about it.

I turned to see Charlotte squirming uncomfortably on Jasper's back, wanting to get away from the lewd stares of the men. She was very pretty, and her destroyed clothes left little to the imagination. I shot all the men a nasty glare, warning them to stop their staring. Unfortunately, not all of them listened or even paid any attention to me. Only a few of them were smart enough to look away.

"Give the girl some respect and stop staring at her like a bunch of wild men," Jasper said finally. This made the men stop staring. They mumbled some apologies while Maria stepped forward.

"Is this all you brought back to me?" she asked in a stern voice.

"Yes ma'am." Jasper answered. "There weren't any soldiers around—or at least any that would've done you good. We couldn't find any real army camps. We would've had to travel all the way up to Virginia or more to find any _real_ soldiers."

Maria nodded, "She'll have to do," the way she said it was almost dismissively, but she continued her questioning, "You have a name?" she asked Charlotte callously.

"M-my name's C-Charlotte." Charlotte stuttered out, she was frightened by Maria's coldness towards her.

"Well come on, get off Jasper's back and come with me. We have a lot to discuss." Maria said shortly.

Charlotte looked at me, I nodded and whispered to her, "Go, we'll come get you in a bit and show you around." I promised. I wasn't going to leave her with Maria for long. She was already scared enough as it is.

We all watched as she slid down from Jasper's back and followed Maria into the small cottage that we used for meetings. As she left I turned to Jasper, "Do you think Maria's going to be really hard on her?" I asked him.

Jasper shrugged, "No harder than she was on you."

-**x-x-x**-

A few hours later, we went and saved Charlotte from Maria. Maria had explained everything to Charlotte the way that she had explained things to us—she just came out and said it. Maria wasn't one to beat around the bush. If she had something to say, she said it. She didn't spare peoples feelings.

Needless to say, Charlotte was shocked about the change of events in her life. When Jasper and I finally got her away from Maria, Jasper was able to explain what happened and why he had attacked her. He apologized profusely for his mistake and Charlotte gave him a friendly hug in return. She told him that she didn't blame him for what he did. He had explained how sometimes it was so hard for vampires to be in control of themselves, especially when blood, high emotions and humans were involved. Jasper thanked her graciously for her understanding nature.

As it turned out, Charlotte didn't have a special power, much to Maria's disappointment. But Charlotte was a feisty one, after she got over her shyness to everyone at the camp and really did a number on some of the boys. She knew how to keep them in line, probably something she had learned from being a field nurse. The men learned to respect her in return.

Charlotte and I became friends quickly and I introduced her to friends of my own, Lucy and Peter. I explained that even though Lucy was one of the leaders and was close to Maria—she didn't have a bad attitude like Maria did. Peter was more civilized than most of the newborns. This made it much more enjoyable to be around him. He developed a good friendship with Jasper, which in turn, made me start a friendship with him. Any friend of Jasper's was a friend of mine, well almost any.

When I introduced Peter and Charlotte—things got a little funny. They both became very shy around one another but in no time at all, they became inseparable. Before I knew it, I accidently walked in on them in a very passionate embrace. If I would have been human, I would have blushed in embarrassment at interrupting them.

I apologized quickly and left. I then ran off to tell Jasper the good news. He had known for a while that they had feelings for each other. Later on, we decided to tease them about it.

Life continued on like normal, but there was a heavy feeling in the air. Something big was coming. But, nobody knew exactly what that big thing was. Tensions were high and Maria had us training more than ever. She sent Jasper and I out more than ever, rallying up even more troops for training. She wouldn't tell us what was going on. Even Jasper couldn't penetrate through her brick wall that held all her secrets.

One day I stumbled upon Nettie and Maria talking in hushed tones. I had just returned from getting two more soldiers for Maria and needed to let Maria know that they were now with Jasper and she could check them out if she wanted too.

'_Of course she would, she always does_.' I thought.

They didn't notice I was there yet, and I quickly made myself invisible to them so I could listen to their conversation. I knew it was wrong, but I had to find out what was going on. The future of all the vampires in our camp was at stake. We deserved to know what was going on. With the two newborns forgotten, I listened in with care.

"We must act soon, if we don't all this will be for waste!" Maria exclaimed in a hush.

"Are you sure that they are ready?" Nettie asked, from where she was perched on a chair.

Maria nodded, a cruel smile gracing her features, "I've spoken to Jasper already. He has trained them all exactly how I have asked."

"How exactly is he doing all this?" Nettie asked suspiciously. "We all know Jasper wouldn't go out and do this on his own. What have you done?" she demanded. It was nice to know that even though Nettie was kind of erratic, she was defending my brother. I kept quiet and continued to listen, my anger rising.

"By rewarding him of course, this is how it has always worked. You know this, Nettie. You've taken part before." Maria said, turning to look at Nettie.

Nettie shook her head, "I don't anymore. I realized that rewarding them the way that you were was a mistake."

"It's not a mistake if it bends them to my will. It makes them do their jobs better if they know what is in store for them if they do it well." She replied. I wanted to be sick. I knew exactly what she was referring to. I knew the smile on her face. I could only hope that my brother hadn't fallen for her act.

"Isabella would never allow that, you _know _that Maria. She'd be furious if she found out that you've been with Jasper." Nettie said. Her anger was building, as was mine.

"With Isabella gathering more and more strong soldiers, being away for days at a time, it has made it easier for me to influence Jasper into training them the way I want him too. He likes to be rewarded and since he's so good, well I reward him often. But this of course is when Isabella isn't around, of course. Do you think that I do not know how angry she would be if she found out some of the things I've gotten her naive brother to do with me?" Maria said with a malicious smile. "He's such a strong, handsome man. We're so lucky to have him on our side. He's such an innocent boy though, but by the time I'm through with him—" she stopped for a moment, "He's defiantly not going to be so innocent anymore."

Nettie stood up from her chair in anger, "What you're doing is wrong, Maria!"

"Hush, Nettie!" Maria hissed.

"I'm not going to stand by and watch you do something so vile and despicable!" Nettie glared.

Maria shook her hand and clicked her tongue against the roof of you're mouth, "So are you saying that you are against me, Nettie. Those who aren't with me are against me, and you know what happens to those her are against me." She warned. The threat in her voice was real.

Nettie didn't say anything more. She just looked at the floor.

"That's what I thought. We shall attack Monterrey soon. I want my territories _back_." Maria hissed with anger, "I'm going to let my Jasper know the good news, maybe fool around with him a bit before Isabella returns." She cackled and then waltzed from the room, walking straight past me without noticing me. She stopped quickly though, "Nettie, if you tell anyone—especially Isabella—about this, you will live to regret it. Or rather die." With that Maria left, going off to find _her Jasper_.

"He isn't _your _Jasper." I heard Nettie hiss from the room. It was almost as if she had heard my thoughts. But, I knew she didn't. She thought she was alone. Oh, the perks of being able to turn yourself invisible.

I debated making myself visible so that I could talk to Nettie, but I knew that I couldn't. I couldn't tell anyone about what I had just overheard. It was too dangerous. Nettie eventually left the room while I still stood near the door, invisible, deep in thought.

I ran over the conversation many times over in my head. Two things stuck out. The first thing was that Maria was going to finally have us attack and she had chose her stolen territory of Monterrey as our first target. The second thing was that Maria was using my brother, and he was being an almost willing participant. Of course, I didn't have the full story but it was hard to not believe Maria's word. That would explain why Jasper had reduced to worshiping the ground Maria walked on and their shared looks when they thought no one was looking.

After thinking that all over, I was furious for three simple reasons:

_1.) I had known before, but now more than ever, I knew that Maria was a vindictive bitch._

_2.) My own brother had turned against for said vindictive bitch._

_And 3.) There was nothing I could do to stop any of this from happening. I was now alone, with only Peter, Charlotte and possibly Lucy on my side._

I finally ran from the cabin and made myself visible as soon as it was safe. I ran to where I had left Jasper with the newborns, only to find Maria attached to his arm, the newborns where absolutely no where to be found. They had probably dumped them off with Peter, who was basically in charge of babysitting the newborns. Unable to move I watched as Maria stood, giving my own brother fake goo-goo eyes and almost retched at the sight of her running her hand up and down his strong, scarred arms. He flashed her his perfect, crooked smile before wrapping on of his arms around her. She leaned up to whisper in his ear before they took off together, running towards the forest.

_'It's true! Everything Maria bragged about was absolutely true_!' My mind screamed at me. I wanted to cry in frustration and hurt, but of course I couldn't.

I felt someone come up behind me, I saw Nettie. There was anger in her eyes, but it wasn't aimed at me. I knew this. She turned to me and spoke with tired eyes. It was then I realized that even though Nettie looked young, she really wasn't. For once I saw the wise, old woman inside of the young woman's body, "Maria's stupid, and Jasper doesn't know any better. Don't be angry at him, she has him under her spell."

"I want to believe you," I muttered, "But somehow, I don't think I can."

I felt her put a reassuring arm around my waist. I hadn't even realized I was starting to tremble until she did so, "You aren't alone, Bella." Nettie whispered, "Maria has us all caught in her web, but not all of us willingly. Lucy and I don't approve of the way Maria is acting. We know that Maria will mess up soon, and when she does we will be waiting. You can join us then." She said, reassuringly.

I nodded, confused. Nettie and I were not close, we never talked so I didn't understand why she was being so nice, I called her out on it. When she answered I was surprised.

"You're so strong, Isabella." She said. "I was jealous of you, but I realized its time for me to grow up and get over that jealousy. If we're going to defeat Maria someday, we need to stick together." Nettie smiled, this time it was warm. I knew I could trust her, like I did Lucy. "Come on, we have some long years ahead of us. We need to be ready."

Together, Nettie and I headed towards the house with a new found friendship and alliance intact.

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**Any of you shocked? Sorry Jasper lovers, I'm not trying to make you hate him but it has to happen for this story. Besides, I'm trying to stick to the book and while Stephenie Meyer might not have meant THIS exactly when she had Jasper say that Maria rewarded them all if they did something good, I think it's an interesting twist. So now its up to you, REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 9

**AUTHORS NOTE: _Hola, so here is the (what I hope is) the much anticipated Chapter Nine. You all found out whats going on with Maria and Jasper, well here is Jasper and Bella's first confrontation! There is also some major Vampire Angst thrown in here towards the end and once again you might find yourself pretty disgusted with Jasper, but it has to be done. With the direction this story is headed, there will be some Vamp Angst thrown in a lot. So, that is just to prepare you. Anyways, I'm a little disappointed, the review count has been going down (A LOT) lately, are you guys disappointed with the story or are you just not wanting to review :( Well, I hope you still like the story, and I hope you will take the time to send me a short review. I don't care if it's a smiley or frowny face, you letting off your frustration at Jasper, or you telling me that I made a mistake on something. I love reviews and I love to know what the people who are reading my stories are thinking. So this time, I hope to see a rise in reviews (please!) Anyways, that is enough of me talking for now. On with the chapter. Enjoy :)_**

**_- Rip._**

PS (Small Note): I have a website: **http://musicormiseryfanfics[dot]weebly[dot]com/index[dot]html **I would greatly appriciate if you would visit it if you have the time. It has all sorts of pictures and things from Lachrymose (as well as Midnight Tryst) that you should check out (: The link here is to the main page, but there are tabs at the top that quide you to my different pages. It should be pretty easy to figure out. I hope you enjoy it as well ;) There is also another (direct) link on my profile page if you would rather use that one :) Thanks again for your time!

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**Chapter Nine**

**BPOV**

- _**Texas, 1865**_ -

"Bella! Hey Bella!" I heard Jasper's voice ring out to me. I caused the grin on my face to fall away and make me quicken my pace. "Wait up, will ya?"

I ignored his calls and kept on walking in the opposite direction, leading me away from him. I heard his feet begin to pick up speed, he was coming after me. This had happened countless times in the past few weeks. I've asked Maria to send me out more often, to gather more soldiers. I didn't want to be around my brother, I felt betrayed by him.

After Nettie and I had watched Maria and Jasper run off into the woods together, we returned to the cabin where the two of us and Lucy discussed making an alliance against Maria. It was now nearly two months after we had held that meeting. None of us approved of the way that she was running things. We hoped that eventually Maria would make a mistake and we could turn her over to the Volturi. But for now, we tried to lay low. We didn't want to bring attention to our alliance against the leader of our current coven. If the Volturi would find about us now, we'd all be sentenced to death. We would be guilty by association. There was also the fact that Maria was planning on taking Monterrey soon. We hoped that after we took it over, things would calm down and we could leave and go off on our own. I was happy with that thought, I was tired of fighting, tired of killing and tired of Maria in general. I had put up with her for almost two years. I was done taking her orders.

"Jesus Bella, stop walking and wait for me. I _know_ you can hear me." Jasper said.

He broke me from my thoughts about the peaceful alliance. Then, all of a sudden, he was in front of me. It wasn't exactly fair on my part. He was much faster than me after all. I turned my head away from him. I wouldn't look into the eyes of a traitor. He took one step forward while I took one back. This continued until I was pressed against the side of the cabin.

'_That little trickster_!' I thought in my head. '_He_ _planned this all along_!'

"Bella, seriously what's wrong. You look like a three year old when someone stole their lollipop away from them." He whined.

'_Pathetic_.'

I huffed but didn't speak.

Jasper sighed, "Why aren't you speaking to me, Bella. What did I do wrong?" he asked. I wasn't going to tell him. He didn't deserve for me to talk to him. "If you tell me what I did wrong we can fix this. I don't like my baby sister ignoring me."

I turned to look at him for the first time in nearly two months. "I am _not _you're sister. I _refuse_ to claim to be the sister of a _traitor_." I hissed in the darkest voice I had ever used.

Jasper's eyes widened and he stumbled backwards a new steps, surprised by the hatred in my voice. Of course I didn't hate him—he was my brother, I could never hate my brother. But that didn't mean that I wanted to claim to be related to him in any way shape or form. He betrayed me by going off and acting like Maria's little man whore. That wasn't something that was going to settle with me too well. I could feel my eyes growing darker with anger, they were probably wild looking by now. I could also feel a growl building itself up in my chest. My anger was getting the best of me, this was something that rarely had happened when I was human. But, now as a vampire, I found I had a harder time controlling my anger towards others. I found myself being a little harsher towards those who angered me or upset me.

"What are you—" Jasper started to speak when I cut him off with my fist.

_'Like that_,' I thought. _'I never would have done that if I was still human_.'

He stumbled backwards even more and clutched his cheek in his hand. His eyes were once again wide with shock that I had actually hit him. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't one to get physically violent, even as a vampire, but I also wasn't one to take shit from others. In our early days, Jasper had taught me many safe defense skills to use against the boys in town who liked to bully me and push me into the mud. I had always had a decent right hook but had never used it against Jasper—up until now that is.

"That's for lying to me, bastard!" I yelled shrilly at him.

And as if it was a sign from the heavens, I saw Nettie walking towards me, smirking in amusement at the scene before her. She had seen the entire thing. Or well, at least she had witnessed me punching Jasper in the face. I might have overreacted a bit but I didn't care, Jasper deserved it. Maybe he would get some sense knocked into him.

"Jasper, I think that it is time that you leave." Nettie said calmly. She came up and stood beside me with her hands on her hips. She was clearly stating that it wasn't a time for Jasper to argue with her.

Jasper was about to protest when Nettie held up her hand, "Maria is looking for you." She said lowly.

His facial expression changed from one of torment to one of curiousness, "Did she tell you what she wanted from me?" he asked excitedly.

Nettie and I both looked at each other and frowned at his anticipation, "She said it's time for you're _reward_." Nettie hissed out.

Jasper smiled largely but then dropped it as soon as he saw Nettie's frown and my scowl. He stared at me for a few precious moments before turning to walk away. He was almost fifteen feet away from me when he stopped cold and turn to look at me, "This isn't over Isabella. We will talk—soon. And without any interruptions."

With that he left. As soon as he was out of sight, Nettie and I both let out a breath that neither of us had realized we were holding.

"That was close." I whispered.

Nettie nodded, "Nice right hook by the way."

I smiled in return at the compliment, "Thank you, but dontcha' think that you could've saved me a little sooner?"

"Nah," Nettie said with a wide, toothy grin. When she spoke again, her southern accent came out more from her excitement. "When I came upon you two, ya'll we're getting into it. You were just gettin' ready to hit 'em. Now, that was something I've been wantin' to see from the start. You didn't disappoint." She said, giving me a sideways hug.

"Nice to know," I replied.

"What was that all about?" A voice asked from the left of us.

I turned to see Lucy poking her head out of a window in the cabin that was located a few feet from where Nettie and I were standing. We both waved at her in reply before walking over towards her.

"Did ya see what happened?" Nettie asked.

Lucy shook her head in disappointment, "No, I only saw Jasper turn around to tell you that he was going to talk to you soon, what happened?" Lucy asked.

"Jasper cornered me," I huffed. "So I punched him in the face when he tried to tell me he didn't know why I was angry with him."

Lucy sighed, "Are you still not speaking to him?" she asked sadly.

Lucy thought that not speaking to Jasper was a mistake, and she was the only one who thought so. Nettie and Charlotte agreed that I had ever right to be angry, Peter just didn't really care because we never told him the full story while Lucy thought that I needed to sit down and talk to my brother. She was the voice of reason in this whole mess. But I didn't want to talk to him about everything—not yet. It would be too hard. Especially if he came straight out and told me he had been sleeping with Maria. Knowing was one thing, but having your brother come out and confirm it is a total different thing.

I shook my head, "No, of course I'm not speaking to him! Why would I _want _to speak with him?" I said.

"Bella, I really think that you are going to regret doing this. One day you are going to look back on now and feel guilty about the way you are treating your own flesh and blood." Lucy said slowly.

"He _is not _my flesh and blood. He isn't even _related_ to me biologically. He is my _adoptive_-brother." I said.

Lucy shook her head once more, "You say that now, but when it really counts and deep down, he is your flesh and blood. You love him, he made a big mistake and you should forgive him, because everyone makes mistakes."

Nettie huffed, "Oh so you're saying that what he is doing with Maria is okay now?"

"Of course not!" Lucy exclaimed, her eyes widening in disgust. "Maria is wrong, but you have to realize, she is also very persuasive and Jasper is only falling for her trick. It isn't exactly his fault."

"He should learn to control his urges," I grunted in reply.

Nettie giggled beside me, "That sounded kinda' dirrrrrty, Bella." She rolled the 'r' in 'dirty' and she wrinkled her nose at me in a teasing manner.

Lucy and I both laughed at her comment, "I guess it did, didn't it?" I replied.

Suddenly there was a loud crash and the sound of collapsing wood from behind us. We turned in surprise to see two soldiers wrestling around in the dirt. Surrounding them was one of the bunk houses where the soldiers rested and were cleaned of their wounds, courtesy of Charlotte. But now, the bunk house was collapsed in shambles around the two fighting vampires. Curse words were flying from their mouths like sailors as they continued to punch at each other as they unsuccessfully tried to gain an upper-hand against each other.

Nettie sighed and brought her hand to her face in distress, "This is the fifth time just this week that there has been a fight!" she cried.

I nodded, "They've been more restless than usual for something to do. They are so bored that they just sit around insulting each other all day. That can't lead to anything good."

"Maybe Maria should entertain them more," Lucy suggested.

Nettie and I turned and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Lucy quickly amended her statement, "I mean, she could give them something to do like train more or actually get on with the fight already. Having all these newborns around all the time is just acting for trouble. If we don't act soon, we're probably going to get reported to the Volturi. Nothing good could ever come from a confrontation from them."

"You're right," I said. "Why hasn't Maria had us attack Monterrey yet?"

Nettie shrugged, "I don't know, but I think she will give in soon."

"Maybe she will let us all go afterwards," I said giddily.

Lucy frowned, "You surely know Maria by now Bella. You know that she would never let us leave her without some kind of fight against us. We're all too valuable to her. She won't be satisfied with just having Monterrey. She will want to take even more hunting territories."

"Sounds just like a tyrant." I commented.

"You were right when you called her a tyrant, Bella," Nettie agreed. "She is like a tyrant. She wants everythin' to be under her control. If she wasn't so afraid of the Volturi, she'd probably have us fight 'em from their position. But, no one can defeat the Volturi. They are too powerful and they have too many numbers with certain gifts that are used in their favor."

"What would you do if she was crazy enough to take them on?" I asked.

"We'd leave," Nettie and Lucy said simply at the same time.

"And take you with us of course," Lucy added. "There is no way we could ever leave you here to fight them alone."

There was another loud crash in that moment that interrupted the rest of our conversation. We cringed, this crash was louder than the last one and the last one had destroyed the bunk house. Honestly, what was left to even destroy? We all turned to where the sound came from, only to sigh loudly in exasperation.

"Alright, seriously, what happened now? What else could possibly be broken?" I said in a tired voice. I rubbed my temples, if it were possible for vampires to get headaches, I'm certain I would have one.

"Come on girls," Lucy said, "I think it's time to break up a fight."

The three of us ran over to the scene of a crime. Instead of taking down another bunk house, the soldiers had instead destroyed the little practice area that we fought in. It was small and was kind of like a horse corral. This, without any doubt, was what it probably really was. Maria had stolen this place from a farmer. According to Nettie, when she saw the place, she killed the owners and took it as her own, saying that she was a relative to the owner and it was rightly hers. No one questioned her because I'm sure she dazzled all the townsfolk into agreement.

"What do ya'll thing your doin'!" Nettie yelled shrilly at the soldiers who were still fighting. As we looked closely, it was the same soldiers from earlier.

The two soldiers looked up, obviously guilty from being caught. I recognized them immediately. Their names were Lewis and Lee, brothers but fought on opposite sides of the Civil War. How we managed to capture them both and change them was merely a coincidence. They constantly were at each other's throats so it didn't really shock me none that they were the cause behind all of the ruckus. In fact, I would have laughed, if it wasn't for all the damage they caused.

The two boys were cute. I wasn't going to deny that small fact. I'd never go after any of them though, they just weren't my type. They were both extremely tall, over 6'3 easily and lean but still built. They had shaggy dark brown hair but had pretty blue eyes before they were changed. I would know, I was the one who found them both.

"Do ya'll realize that you not only destroyed the bunk house but now the training ring as well?" Nettie asked.

The two vampires looked around and looked back at us sheepishly. Clearly they did realize what they had done but had been too into their fight to notice the damage they were creating. Nettie lectured them for a bit about destroying stuff and we were getting ready to let them leave in peace when we heard Maria's enraged shriek coming from the edge of the woods, getting closer every moment.

"What the _hell _is going on here!" she screamed. "Why is _my _bunk house and _my _training ring is shambles! Who destroyed it! Do _not _lie to me, I dare you to try and see what happens." Maria hissed loudly, her eyes were glowing bright red, showing us that she had just hunted.

A few seconds later a weary Jasper trailed up behind her and stopped short when he took in all the damage that had taken place in the short fifteen or twenty minutes he had been absent on the ranch.

Lewis and Lee took a quick look at each other before they stepped forward, looking terrified at _Her Royal Bitchiness's _wrath. As they stepped forward, Maria's eyes immediately zeroed in on their guilty faces and a malevolent sneer became present on her face.

"Was it you?" she asked coldly.

The two vampires nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." Lewis said.

"It was us." Lee seconded. "We're very sorry ma'am, we'll fix them both."

Lewis agreed wholeheartedly with his brother as he nodded frantically in response.

Maria growled out her next answer, shocking us all, "No!"

"_No_, what do you mean _no_! They just offered to repair everything! How could you turn that down?" Lucy screeched out at Maria. All of us were loosing our patience with her.

Several of the other vampires in the camp had left the bunk houses and ventured into the early afternoon sun to see what all the ruckus was about. I'm sure to any passerby it would have been quite the sight: about twenty sparkling people standing around yelling and arguing with each other.

The three female vampires, minus Charlotte, were huddled off to the side, while the thirteen or so male vampires were all standing in a group staring at Lewis and Lee. During the last few trips to find vampires, I had only came across females so I had to change them and bring them back to Maria. Their names were Louise, Ruth and Elsie. They were all very sweet creatures and were defiantly not made for this life.

Maria locked her gaze on the two men and spoke, interrupting my thoughts once more as she tended to do a lot, "By no, I clearly mean no. These two have lost their chance, I want them gone. Now." She said.

"You want them to leave?" A voice asked. We all looked over and saw another vampire, Robert, I think was his name.

"I want them gone, I want them non-existent. Poof, gone. I want them _dead_." Maria said casually but there was a hint of excitement in her voice.

Everyone stood shocked, looking at Maria. Who could be excited at the chance of killing two of our army? Well, Maria I guess could get excitement out of that.

"Dead? What do you mean dead? You can't kill them!" Squeaked out a voice. I turned and saw the petite blonde figure of Louise, Lewis's mate. Of course she would be upset about this, Maria was going to murder her mate.

"Too late, I've made my decision. Jasper, Peter." Maria said to her two strongest male vampires. She waved them ahead, giving them full permission to murder two souls.

"NO!" Came the anguished bawl of none other than Louise. I looked over to see Elsie and Ruth holding Louise from running towards her mate.

Everything happened just so fast. Lewis and Lee were both frozen with shock when Jasper charged towards the two of them with a slight grin on his face. Peter was shocked by Maria's order and didn't even try to move for a good ten seconds. Maria shot him a glare and he begrudgingly began to follow Jasper. Jasper attacked Lee, ripping his apart in seconds. Lee was the younger of the two and less of a threat than Lewis was. Peter held him down while Jasper attacked him.

I will never forget that day, it will always be burned into my memory. I will never forget the anguished screams from Louise, Lewis's mate, as Jasper ripped him apart, piece by piece, in what seemed like slow motion. I will never forget the sound of inhuman screeches as Lewis tried to fight Jasper back. I will never forget the smell of burning flesh or the sight of purple smoke, rising up towards the heavens as the ashes of Lewis and Lee began to burn. I also will never forget the fact that Louise threw Elsie and Ruth off of her and charged towards Maria, rage built up inside of her for killing her mate. Jasper attacked her, protecting Maria and killed her as well in seconds.

That was the day I knew my brother was no longer my brother. Maria had made him into a cold blooded killer. And it was that day that Lucy stopped bugging me to forgive him, for what he did that day by the corral was unforgivable.

When it was all over, Jasper returned to Maria and she gave him a kiss on the cheek. Maria smiled wickedly at us all and announced we would be attacking Monterrey in one week. She thought that we were ready. Jasper then took her arm and they walked together to the house. The rest of us were too shocked by what had just happened right before our eyes to even move. We stood standing in astonishment, staring at the still burning piles of ashes. It was the only thing that was left of Lewis, Lee and Louise.

After the piles were done burning, Peter, Robert and another male vampire, William, respectfully cleaned up the ashes that Jasper and Maria had left behind in disgrace. Elsie and Ruth were accompanied by their mates, George and Thomas, back to the last remaining bunk house, dry sobbing the entire way. The other male vampires left, most likely to hunt and get their minds off the terror that had just occurred. After they were finished cleaning the ashes, Robert and William followed the others.

Peter and Charlotte stayed with Nettie, Lucy and myself. We didn't speak for a long time and when we did, we started to voice our hatred against Maria.

"I know he is your brother, Isabella," Charlotte started, "But what he did was wrong—very, very wrong."

"I know," I said quietly. "That was not my brother Jasper. That was Jasper the killer. He is no brother of mine, I assure you."

"Maria needs to be dealt with, and soon." Peter voiced.

"I agree," Lucy and Nettie put in.

I sighed, "But what can we possibly do?" I asked.

"It's us five against two, Jasper and Maria, of course." Peter said. "The odds are in our favor."

"I agree with Peter," Nettie said. "We outnumber them. I think we could actually win."

I shook my head, "Not with Jasper on her side, he is very powerful and is very loyal to those that he loves. He will protect Maria with everything he has," I stated sadly. "And after today, I know he isn't happy with me."

Charlotte hugged me to the side, "Everything will be okay, we'll get your brother back eventually." She reassured me.

A sob broke from my chest, "No, I don't think so. I think he's too far gone."

We fell into a stony silence. "We should probably leave then. Just leave all this pain, war and everything behind. It's obvious that this isn't what any of us want. We could probably sneak away when Jasper and Maria are hunting because they will be gone and distracted by the thrill of the hunt." Peter suggested.

"That could work," Lucy said, tapping her index finger against her chin. "But we have to wait until after we attack Monterrey. Maria will be happy about having her territory back and might be too distracted to give us time to run away. But we will have to split up." She said.

"Yeah," Nettie agreed. "If we all stay together than it will be easier for her to track us down."

"So we'll do this after we attack Monterrey?" I asked.

Lucy nodded, "That would be the best time. The day or night after we talk it over, she'll be in a good mood and be celebrating our victory so she probably won't even be paying attention to any of us."

Charlotte smiled brightly, "So we have a plan?"

Peter, Nettie, Lucy and I all nodded in response, "I think we've got ourselves a plan." I said.

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**So, what do you think of Lewis, Lee and Louise? Jasper and Bella? Jasper and Maria? What do you think of the plan? Oh and just on another note, what did you think of the MTV awards? Have you seen the** _New Moon_ **trailer yet and what did you think of it? Reviews make me happy :) I'd love to know what you think! Reviews also make me update faster!! :)**


	11. Preview Chp 10

**EDIT: Honestly you can skip this little chapter if you really want. THIS ISN'T AN ACTUAL CHAPTER. It's a preview so if you want, just skip to Chapter Ten :) I promise, you aren't missing anything.**

**So previously, there was a note here talking about how my laptop crashed. I've taken that wretched note down since my computer is note all better :) And here is a short 400 word preview for the next chapter to replace the authors note instead of replacing it with the brand new chapter. This way you can actually review for it without it saying, "You have already reviewed this chapter." Anyways, I hope you like it. The new chapter should be up a little later tonight. I'm just doing some last minute edits with it. **

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_A week had passed. It was time._

"_Tonight is the night!" Maria exclaimed in excitement, clapping her hands together and squealing like a ten year old girl._

"_Tonight?" Several voices murmured in harmony._

_It was dark. It was almost ten o'clock and Maria had summoned everyone out of the remaining bunk house and cabin to have a quick group meeting. We stood in groups, Maria and Jasper at the head side-by-side while the newborns formed a large clump on either side of them. Charlotte, Peter, Nettie and Lucy stood with me. The five of us stood directly across from Maria and Jasper. Five against two. What Maria didn't know was the most powerful members of her clan, aside from Jasper, were now all in alliance against her. She didn't have our official support—not anymore anyways. Of course, she never had mine. I never approved of her ways. If only there was another way. I would probably stuck like this forever if our plan wasn't able to go through correctly, which was always a small possibility._

"_Yes tonight," Maria snapped out at the newborns. "I did say we were going to attack in one week, didn't I?" she hissed out in annoyance, "My god, nobody ever listens around here anymore!"_

'_Because no one wants to listen to your annoying voice__.' I thought silently with a chuckle._

_Her eyes fell on me, "Something funny __Isabella__?" she asked stonily._

_I giggled, "Absolutely nothing."_

_I felt Jasper's eyes on me, burning holes into my forehead but I kept all eye contact away from him. I didn't want to give him the pleasure of direct eye contact, he would think I've forgiven him._

"_ISABELLA!" Maria's voice snapped me from my daydream. I looked up at her with my ruby eyes. She was glaring spitefully while Jasper looked on at me in concern. '__How nice, showing concern for your poor sister __now__, why dontcha?__' I thought sarcastically._

"_Isabella, this is no time to be daydreaming, I just explained the entire plan to get into Monterrey, and you didn't hear one word I said, did you?" she spat._

_I shook my head, "Uhm, not really." I said shamefully, although I really had no reason to be ashamed. It was very clear that not many of the others were listening to her words anyways. Two of the male newborns looked like they would doze off at any moment if it were possible to do so._

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**So that's the preview. It isn't that eventful but that's because I honestly don't want to give too much away. Enjoy please though :) Like I said, the new chapter will be up shortly.**


	12. Chapter 10

**Authors Note:**_I apologize GREATLY for the long overdue of this chapter. I know I promised it would only be a week and then that turned into almost three or four weeks. First my computer crashed, then I was visiting my older cousin for two weeks without a computer to type on and then I had to go for another week to a family reunion. So I've had a SUPER busy last few weeks. In fact, I typed all of this today, so I hope you like and enjoy it because I've worked super hard to get it just right because I think that's really important for this chapter. Anyways, fabulous news, I finally got my laptop back--YAY--and even though I lost everything that had been on it previously, I have gotten back into the swing of things again. I had a tiny bit of writers block for this chapter but I got some inspiration today and now you guys have a 4,400 word long chapter :) Yay, right? It would have been a little longer, but I had to stop it where I did for certain reasons. Just know that the next chapter will be pretty long and eventful. (I think, unless I have to cut it for length or something.) There is some major foreshadowing in this chapter, can you pick it up? And as well as Lucy's (and Nettie's, slightly) story on how she was changed. You might be surprised at who changed her and how she was changed. So I'm hoping for a ton of reviews for this chapter since I'm back and ready :) I hope you all enjoy it. I had to do some major research for this chapter as it should be all historically correct. Time now a new disclaimer._

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**Disclaimer: **_Well, the last time I looked into the mirror - I'm positive I am not Stephenie Meyer. I do not own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters, nor anything that is_ Twilight _related. I am just keeping their characters and putting them to my own plot for my readers enjoyment. I also do not own the historically deceased characters that are mentioned within the chapter. Their mention is for historically correct mention only and I am in no way associated with them._ :)

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**Chapter Ten**

**BPOV**

- _**Texas, 1865**_ -

That one measly week that Maria had, _oh so graciously, _given to us to get ready for the fight in Monterrey, went by much quicker than all of us had expected that it would. The entire week was spent with Maria drilling us extra hard in combat. Luckily, there wasn't any loses by accident nor did any more major drama unfold during the week much to everyone's relief. I think that everyone was still in such a shock over the loss of Lewis, Lee and Louise to even start anything that would result in even a tiny squabble. It seemed as if everyone was stepping on egg shells, around Maria especially. She was extra testy lately and nobody--not even Nettie, Lucy, Charlotte, Peter and I--wanted to set her on another rampage. It was bad enough she was drilling us twenty-four/seven.

Combat was hard. It wasn't my specialty like Jasper's and I had only been training in it for about a year. Yet, I was getting better at it and could defeat most of the newborns already in battle. I also had an advantage over them though. I could make myself invisible with proved to work largely in my favor in fights against others. Since they couldn't see, hear or smell me--I was able to sneak up on them, giving them no sign I was there. I was the perfect assassin, even though I didn't really want to be. It was burden really, knowing I could kill someone so easily. With me, it was an unfair fight for I had an advantage others did not. I would use it for defense though.

I wasn't really looking forward to the upcoming battle. Jasper, on the other hand, was absolutely elated over the fact that the battle was coming up so soon. It seemed as if this whole week he was always prancing around with a giant assed smile on his face. Though, there were a few time this week I had caught him when he had a fierce, cold expression on his face. It was that face that always showed up when he was about to go in for a fight. He no longer acted or looked like a boy--he looked like a grown man. But he was a grown man that I was not proud of.

I still wasn't speaking to Jasper yet. I swear, he has now tried every single little thing in the _'Book to Stalking_' to try and get my attention. He had gone as far as cornering me once more before Peter decided to help me out and distract him long enough for me to escape. It was sad when I started to accuse my own brother of stalking me. Most would say it wasn't really possible for a family member to stalk you, but oh Jasper had surpassed that suspicion long ago. He was practically following me everywhere. Popping out of random corners near the barn or the cabin when I wasn't expecting it. I could tell my brother was getting impatient with my cold shoulder against him, but in all honestly, I really didn't care all that much. It was harsh, mean and cruel--but it was the god honest truth. I could not tell a lie. At the moment, he was no brother of mine.

I couldn't settle into my thoughts for long though. It wasn't the time to dwell on thoughts of my stalker brother. A week had passed. It was time.

"Tonight is the night!" Maria exclaimed in excitement, clapping her hands together and squealing like a ten year old girl.

"Tonight?" Several voices murmured in harmony.

It was dark. It was almost ten o'clock and Maria had summoned everyone out of the remaining bunk house and cabin to have a quick group meeting. We stood in groups, Maria and Jasper at the head side-by-side while the newborns formed a large clump on either side of them. Charlotte, Peter, Nettie and Lucy stood with me. The five of us stood directly across from Maria and Jasper. Five against two. What Maria didn't know was the most powerful members of her clan, aside from Jasper, were now all in alliance against her. She didn't have our official support—not anymore anyways. Of course, she never had mine. I never approved of her ways. If only there was another way. I would probably stuck like this forever if our plan wasn't able to go through correctly, which was always a small possibility.

"Yes tonight," Maria snapped out at the newborns. "I did say we were going to attack in one week, didn't I?" she hissed out in annoyance, "My god, nobody ever listens around here anymore!"

'_Because no one wants to listen to your annoying voice_.' I thought silently with a chuckle.

Her eyes fell on me, "Something funny _Isabella_?" she asked stonily.

I giggled, "Absolutely nothing."

I felt Jasper's eyes on me, burning holes into my forehead but I kept all eye contact away from him. I didn't want to give him the pleasure of direct eye contact, he would think I've forgiven him.

At that moment it was as if a little angel and a little devil had appeared on either of my shoulders. My conscious of course. '_You are being a little harsh. He is your brother after-all. Can't you see that your cold shoulder is hurting him?_' The angel on my left shoulder said.

The devil on my right side snorted in my conscious, '_No she isn't, she isn't being harsh_ enough_! Or have you forgotten all that he has done, he has deserved it_.'

'_He's her brother_!' The angel through in peacefully.

The devil retorted with, '_Not anymore, he's betrayed her in the worst way_.'

The angel sighed heavily, '_Everyone makes mistakes in their lifetime, sometimes you need to forgive and forget_.'

'_How can you forgive your brother for betraying you? How can you forget all of those that he's murdered, all of those he has hurt, how he's hurt YOU_!' The devil spat, and he had a point, I wouldn't and couldn't forget what Jasper had done to me and to others—at least not for a really long time.

"ISABELLA!" Maria's voice snapped me from my daydream. I looked up at her with my ruby eyes. She was glaring spitefully while Jasper looked on at me in concern. '_How nice, showing concern for your poor sister _now_, why dontcha?_' I thought sarcastically.

"Isabella, this is no time to be daydreaming, I just explained the entire plan to get into Monterrey, and you didn't hear one word I said, did you?" she spat.

I shook my head, "Uhm, not really." I said shamefully, although I really had no reason to be ashamed. It was very clear that not many of the others were listening to her words anyways. Two of the male newborns looked like they would doze off at any moment if it were possible to do so.

"Well, it's no matter anyways. You won't be joining in on the fight anyways." Maria said haughtily.

I fumed slightly, the others perked up at this a little. "Why won't she be fighting?" Nettie snapped out against Maria.

Maria laughed, "Well, isn't it obvious? Isabella here isn't strong enough to fight in the actual fights! She's the one who finds my newborns and the additions to the army. She isn't a fighter and I don't want to risk losing her in a fight. She will not fight."

Jasper grunted slightly, "I think my sister has proved herself worthy of fighting in the past, besides with her power, no one can touch her. They can't even see her." he said.

He was defending me. I didn't know whether to be happy about that or angry. Right now I was seeing a hazy red gaze, and it was focused on Maria. I wanted to jump out and attack her so bad. But I knew I couldn't, it wasn't the right now nor place for that to happen—if it ever would happen. It wasn't exactly part of the plan to kill Maria.

Something in Maria's eyes changed, it was almost as if it was defeat. "Jasper has a point," she sighed, almost as if she was talking to herself. "I suppose that your ability would be of use to us when fighting..." she sighed loudly. I felt a grin slowly cross my features but her next words ripped it completely from my face, "But no matter. It's already been decided. Someone needs to stay behind and watch over our training grounds, it will be Isabella and Lucy, as they are not trained as much as the rest of us in combat."

A hushed murmur went up from the newborns and I felt Nettie tense beside me. I knew she was about to lash out against Maria but I turned to her, "Don't say anything you will regret Nettie." I said slowly.

"Yes Nettie," Maria taunted with an evil grin spread across her features, "Listen to Isabella and don't say something that you _will _regret."

Nettie growled, "Why I ought a—" she was about to run forward when Peter came up behind her and grasped her shoulder, effectively keeping Nettie from running towards Maria.

The air was filled with a tense and confused silence. The newborns knew that not all of us on the upper hand of the little group got along, but we usually tried to hide the tense fights behind closed doors. We didn't like to be public about it. We didn't want the newborns getting involved as well.

I looked at Nettie who was breathing heavily even though it wasn't necessary. I shook my head at her, silently reminding her that she could get her revenge in dear time. Now was not the time to upset Maria.

"It is time for the rest of us to go." Maria said simply, acting as if the whole conversation that just took place had never happened. She turned to Lucy and I and said, "I will send someone to get you tomorrow night after we win the fight." She turned to the others, "As for the rest of you, come with me." The usual cruel grin flashed onto her features for a short moment before her face transformed into a scary one of a bloody killer.

Lucy and I watched in great annoyance as Maria and Jasper led the newborns in the southwest direction, towards Monterrey. It would be quite a run, but it wasn't as if any of them needed to stop and rest or anything.

Nettie, Peter and Charlotte hesitated before leaving. They gave us sad smiles and waved goodbye before following the others. Lucy and I looked at each other and silently made our way back to the shelter.

"You know what she told you wasn't true, right?" Lucy said, effectively breaking the silence that had fallen between the two of us.

I turned to face her, my face scrunched up slightly in confusion at her words, "What are you talking about, Lucy?"

"Well," Lucy bit her lip slightly and searched for the right words, "When she told you that you weren't trained enough to fight—well, that was a lie. A huge lie." she said.

I shook my head, "No it wasn't. I'm not trained like the others. Maria, for once in her life, is absolutely right about something."

"You may not be trained like the others were but you are still good at combat. Trust me, I saw you fight with my own eyes and in my opinion, Maria's excuse what just what it was—an excuse." she said.

My eyebrows pulled together, "Why would she make up an excuse? Why would she lie to the others?"

Lucy got a serious look on her face, "Because, she can't afford to lose you in battle. You are far too valuable to her. Why do you think that she hasn't killed you yet?" she explained. "Haven't you noticed that most of the newborns don't last long? You and Jasper are different. The only reason she is bringing Jasper is because he is her secret weapon in combat, you are her secret combat at the last resort."

"But she hates me, why would she keep me around if she hates me? Couldn't she find another vampire with my powers?" I asked.

Lucy shook her head sadly, "No, it just doesn't work like that. Every vampire is different, just like every human is different. They all have different DNA, traits and looks. Like them, we vampires are never the same as well. You will never find a vampire with the same ability as you, Isabella." she sighed, "Which is why Maria is so ardent on keeping you around."

"You mean, I'm the only vampire that has the power of invisibility?" I asked.

She shrugged lightly at my question, "Maybe, maybe not. There can be different variation of the power. You can make yourself and others invisible. If someone else has the power, they may only be able to do one or the other—but you are the only one that can do both at the same time."

"Oh, I see." I said shortly. I didn't really know what else that I could possibly say to keep that particular conversation going. But, I did have someone else that I could say to Lucy. "You do know that she lied about what she said to you as well."

Lucy looked at me and gestured for me to continue what I was saying.

"Maria told you that you didn't have the skills to fight either, that was a lie as well. Maria insults you constantly, Lucy." I told her. I knew I was bringing up a sore subject but I couldn't stop myself. I saw pain flash in Lucy's eyes but I kept on speaking anyways. "Maria is jealous of you and your power, which is obviously why she always insults you. You can fight, and you're good at it. You're passionate and you have a good heart. I'm lucky that I have the two of you as my friends because without you, I'm not sure what I would do. I probably would have ripped Maria to bits by now if it wasn't for the two of you keeping my anger in check."

Lucy reached forward and hugged me tightly, "Thanks Bella." She said, gratefully. "Sometimes all you need to hear is a few kind words. What Maria says to me really does bother me, but I try to not take it to heart. I know she is a bitch and I know I shouldn't care what others think of me but it's really hard sometimes to not let what Maria says get to me." I watched as Lucy sighed, "Don't let what she says to you get to you either. It's all lies. I don't know what I would do without you either. You are such a great friend."

We lapsed into silence as we finally made it to the porch steps and didn't speak for a little while. It wasn't awkward. It was that comfortable silence that you find between two good friends—and that's what Lucy was to me, my best friend. I didn't have many friends when I was human. Jasper was really my only one. Now I had four—Lucy, Nettie, Charlotte and Peter. I had a sudden thought. It was random, but it wasn't the first time I had thought about it. I had just never got the chance to ask about it until now.

"Lucy?" I asked, grabbing her attention.

"Yes?"

I hesitated for a moment, "How were you changed?"

I saw a small grimace appear on Lucy's face but it was gone before I could really say anything about it. The smile that appeared on her face afterwards was one of sorrow, one of regret. "Are you sure you want to hear my life's story?" she asked me. "It's quite long and boring as well."

"I've got the time." I giggled slightly.

Lucy smirked, "Well, alright. You asked for it." She sighed before she began speaking. "It was many, many years ago actually. The year was 1692 to be exact. I'm sure you have heard of the Salem Witch Trials before. Well, not many people know this, but vampires are really the cause behind the Trials themselves. Some vampires thought it would be amusing to taunt the pathetic humans in the town of Salem and throw out the ideas of witches as a cover-up. It worked and threw the whole town into a state of sheer panic. There was a shady woman living in our village by the name of Victoria Lamont, was the woman really behind all of the chaos."

"As the history books show, two young girls by the names of Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams began to have fits described as "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect." The girls would scream at random times, throw things about the room, utter strange noises that just couldn't be explained, crawl under furniture, and twist themselves into abnormal positions. The two complained of being pinched and pricked with pins. A doctor, historically assumed to be William Griggs, could find no substantial verification of any disorder or illness. Before long, other young women in our village began to display similar behaviors. Victoria was the cause; she tortured the poor women mercilessly and warned them that if they ever told the villagers of what was really occurring, she would murder them. She had them blame innocents for what she had really done. Victoria lived with her husband James Lamont and Victoria's widowed brother, Laurent Wyatt, fake names of course. I just didn't know this until later. James and Victoria were polite, but there was something shady about them. They rarely interacted with others and didn't like to go outside during the daytime. Laurent was kinder and ventured out more often, always charming the ladies and being the perfect gentlemen. Yet, something was off about him as well. James sometimes helped his wife torture the townsfolk, but Laurent rarely played a part in it. But he wasn't innocent, mainly because he didn't do anything to stop it." Lucy paused momentarily. I was lost in the story, the facts that she had stated were all historically correct, except for the name of the woman that she had stated was behind all the matter. I had never heard of _Victoria Lamont_, her husband or her brother before.

Lucy continued, "After all of this, the trails began to happen. My mother, Rebecca Towne Nurse, was one of the first to be accused of being a witch. This was mainly because she spoke out against the nonsense of the accuses and because Victoria hated my mother for some reason that is unknown to me. She had a couple of the young girls accuse my mother of using witchcraft on them. The night my mother was arrested, my father broke down and yelled and screamed at the townsfolk, pleading for them to let my mother go and that she wasn't guilty of anything. I was the eldest of eight children, including myself. I was nineteen at the time and had yet to marry which was a rarity at the time. My younger sister, Elizabeth, was sick that night so I decided to go out into the woods and gather some herbs that I knew my mother used to make tea. I took a lantern and one of my father's small knives for protection and set out."

"It was abnormally quiet in the forest but I wasn't afraid. I walked, humming a lovely tune and quickly found the herbs that I had been looking for. I was about five hundred feet from our house; we lived near a wooded area so I didn't have to go far in search of berries, plants and firewood when necessary. Since I was so near the house and settlement, I wasn't that afraid of going out alone in the dark—I should have been. I heard a stick crack so I turned around and saw Laurent standing there with a small grin on his face. Victoria and James were with him. I guess James lost control."

Lucy cringed as if reliving a nightmare, "He bit me that night, saying that I was too mouthwatering to resist. Laurent and Victoria stopped him from killing me completely. I guess they didn't want to attract more attention by murdering the daughter of the last woman to be accused of witchcraft. Since I was so close to town, Laurent had the decency to take me further away, but he left me there. I never saw him, Victoria or James again after that night. It took me a few weeks to figure out what I had become. I didn't have anyone there to explain it all to me. I had to figure it out on me own. The first time I hunted, it was an accident. I'll never forget the horror on the young girl's face. I was like you, I reacted badly. I still feel guilty to this day. If I knew there was another way, I would do it. No matter what the cost, price, anything. I would change in a heartbeat."

She looked up at me, unshed tears in her eyes, "They changed Nettie too, you know. Nettie and I grew up together, I guess I wasn't the first one that James lost control with. I met Nettie a few weeks after my change, wandering around. We exchanged stories and realized that we needed to get away from Salem altogether. We couldn't have our families recognizing us. We never went back. We fled to the South where Maria found us and struck us a deal that we couldn't refuse." She sighed, breaking herself from her memories. "And here we are today, nearly one hundred and sixty years later."

I was at lost for words. I couldn't speak. What she had gone through was so traumatic. I couldn't believe that she and Nettie grew up together as well, it was startling news actually.

"You and Nettie have known each other for quite a while then, haven't you?" I asked.

Lucy nodded, "We have. We've been through a lot together. Until you came along—she was my best and only friend. I think she was jealous of you, that's why she never really talked to you at first. It wasn't that she disliked you, she just feared that I was going to pick you over her. She didn't understand why we became friends so quickly, that is, until you two became friends. She isn't jealous any longer and she regrets being rude to you when you two first met." She explained. I reveled over the new facts I learned. She didn't say any more on the subject and neither did I.

When I finally looked over at Lucy after a few minutes of being lost in my thoughts, she was staring at the sky. I too looked up at the sky for a short moment and saw rain clouds beginning to move in. I took a deep breath of Texan air and the rare musky scent of rain. It hadn't rained much during the past summer months, it would be nice to get a rain shower, or maybe even a thunderstorm.

When I was younger, Jasper and I used to sit out on the front porch of our little home and watch the storm clouds roll in. The beauty of the lightning had always astounded me. Now it was no different. I wanted to watch the storm—for old times sake.

"Looks like there's a storm rollin' in." Lucy commented as she crossed the wooden beams of the porch and held the screen door to the cabin open, expecting me to follow her inside.

I nodded, "Looks like a big one too." I said with a small grin.

"It's about time. This drought it one of the worst I've seen in many years." Lucy commented. She started to go inside and then turned around to find me still staring at the fast moving clouds in wonder, "Are you coming in?" she asked.

I shook my head, "No, not right now anyways. I think I'm going to sit outside and watch the storm for a little while." I told her. "I've always had a small fascination with thunderstorms." I confessed.

She laughed lightly, "It's alright, I'm going to go inside though."

I nodded silently and Lucy left me alone with my thoughts just as the first bolt of lightning raced across the sky. I'm not sure how long I stood there but the storm began to steadily grow worse and gained more and more strength. The thunder rolled on, so loud that it would hurt the ears of a fragile human and the lightning began to flash more frequently.

I heard the screen door squeak open and Lucy popped her head out, "The storms getting really bad, are you sure you don't want to come in?" she asked out of worry.

I shook my head silently and I turned my eyes back to the ever darkening sky—feeling power rush within me. Storms always had a way of making me charge with energy, making me feel so much power and almost as if I could do anything. Jasper had always felt the same way and I almost wished that he was sitting here with me in silence, staring at the sky with me in complete wonder and amazement as we used to when we were young humans. But the key word was _almost. _I knew I would have to forgive my brother sometime, I couldn't hide from him forever—but I wasn't ready yet. I needed more time.

I didn't know it at the time, but the next day would be the start of one of the most horrible periods of my life. The time that I would look back on nearly a hundred years from now and shudder in horror at. It would cause a lot of traumatic pain, fear and loss.

But for the meantime, I plopped down on one of the rocking chairs and fixed my eyes upon the growing storm before me.

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**_So, can I get some reviews please? I know it's has been a little while but that's all the more reason to sit down and leave me a review with your thoughts! :) What do you think about Lucy's story of her change? Shocking isn't it? And what about Nettie and her mentions? Also, what do you think is going to be happening in the next chapter? Did you happen to catch the foreshadowing, to me it's pretty obvious, but hey, I do know what is happening in the next chapter :) Lol. Also, I couldn't resist the Angel/Devil thing. You see it so much in movies, but never in books. I always think it's amusing. I hope you enjoyed it. But please REVIEW/ALERT/FAVORITE!_**


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